Buffalo, NY – Steven Stamkos lit the lamp and added an assist 1.
Steve Downie also scored for Tampa Bay, which had lost three of its last four games coming in.
Jason Pominville supplied the lone goal for the Sabres, who had their three- game winning streak snapped. Ryan Miller made 26 saves in the loss.
Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, Pominville finally got the Sabres on the board with a wrister at the 7:07 mark.
Buffalo had its chances to tie the game down the stretch.
The Sabres received their only power play at an opportune time with 4:33 left in the contest after J.T. Wyman was called for tripping. But Garon stood tall in net to keep the Lightning up by a goal.
Christian Ehrhoff stung the goal post with 58 seconds remaining following a wrister from the right point and Garon made one final save on Paul Gaustad's slap shot with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After attempting just 13 shots through the first two periods, the Sabres put 14 shots on net in the final stanza.
"After the second we talked about just getting more pucks towards the net and making plays in the offensive zone," Sabres center Derek Roy said of the third period.
Tampa Bay netted both of its goals in the second period, with the first coming at the 7:31 mark. Victor Hedman flicked a wrister on net from the point and Downie put home the rebound.
After a turnover at center ice, Stamkos finished a 2-on-1 rush with a one- timer from the high slot off a nice feed from Teddy Purcell with less than seven minutes remaining in the second.
Game Notes
Stamkos' goal is his 37th of the season...Tampa Bay improved to 14-2-6 in one- goal games...The Sabres will play the Devils on Tuesday in the final game of their four-game homestand, while the Lightning travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins on Sunday.
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