Nikita Kucherov brought the playground to Buffalo Saturday night.
In a shootout against the Sabres, Kucherov, of the Tampa Bay Lightning, swept toward the goal. He shot, then whipped his stick over the puck as it slid past Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner.
“He brought the schoolyard to the big stage,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “You better score on that, and he did.”
Tyler Johnson scored in regulation, and Brayden Point and Kucherov scored in the shootout for a 2-1 win.
Ryan O’Reilly scored in regulation for Buffalo.
“It definitely was on purpose,” Tyler Johnson said. “He does it in practice all the time. I think a lot of people mess around doing that but you never think in a NHL game. But that’s Kuch. That’s going to be a goal that’s on YouTube forever, so I can’t wait to see it.”
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy won his third straight game for the Bolts, stopping 31 of 32 shots in regulation and two more in overtime.
The Bolts are now within three points of the Islanders for the final wild-card slot.
Tampa Bay is home on Monday night against the Rangers.
