"They got taught a lesson" - NHL insider thinks Tampa Bay Lightning were taught harsh lesson by Buffalo Sabres

NHL insider JP Peterson lambasted the Tampa Bay Lightning for their loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday (Feb. 23) night.

Tampa Bay slumped to a surprise 6-5 defeat in OT against the Sabres after winning the two previous games (5-3, 6-5) between the two teams. They were favorites heading into their latest meeting, but their defense crumbled, and their usual savior Andrei Vasilevskiy conceded six goals.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Peterson blasted the Bolts for their performance against the Sabres. He said that the loss was on the entire team and not just the defenders.

"This is on the the team, the team defense as a whole, not even just the defenders."

Peterson added that the peformance the Bolts showed on the night was not one coach Jon Cooper wanted his team to play. He added that the players get the urge to play run-and-gun, but the coach hates it when they do so.

"Cooper does not want them playing like that," said Peterson. "And when they get that mentality that they want to run and gun, he freakin hates that. So they got taught a lesson last night."

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How Tampa Bay Lightning lost to Buffalo Sabres

Tampa Bay Lightning kicked off the scoring with Steve Stamkos, who scored his 26th goal of the season. Zemgus Girgensons scored close to the 12-minute mark for the Sabres to tie the game at 1-1.

Heading into the second period, Tage Thompson during the power play with an assist from Jeff Skinner. He scored again in the 12th minute from another Skinner assist. Bolts responded with a goal from Victor Hedman. Jack Quinn, though, had the last laugh in the second period, giving the Sabres a 4-2 lead heading into the final period.

Brayden got one back for Tampa Bay from a Victor Hedman assist. Tage Thompson then responded with his third goal of the night and his fourth hat-trick of the 2022-23 NHL season.

The Sabres failed to maintain their two-goal lead, conceding goals to Anthony Cirelli and Ross Colton in the final period. Ilya Lyubushkin was the hero for the Sabres, though, scoring a shorthanded goal in overtime to seal their win.

The two teams are scheduled to next meet on Mar. 4, while one of their meetings was postponed and will be played at a later date. The Sabres are still six wins behind Tampa Bay Lightning, but considering their current form, they're serious contenders to compete for second spot in the Atlantic Division.