Lightning 3, Sabres 2: Captain Martin St. Louis and Ondrej Palat scored 1:46 apart late in the third period as Tampa Bay rallied to edge visiting Buffalo and record its seventh win in nine games.

After St. Louis forged a tie with 5:51 remaining, Palat found a rebound and slid the puck through a crowd and past Ryan Miller. Tyler Johnson had a goal and an assist while Ben Bishop made 20 saves for the Lightning, who finished their homestand 5-2-0.

Brian Flynn scored in the second period and Thomas Vanek gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead in the third with his 24th goal in 33 career games against Tampa Bay. Miller turned aside 36 shots for Buffalo, which dropped to 1-8-0 on the season.

The Lightning capitalized on one of two power-play chances in the first period as Johnson swept home a rebound from the left side of the net with 7:12 left. Flynn tied the game at 12:58 of the second, knocking in a cross-crease pass by Cody McCormick after a scramble in front.

Buffalo caught Tampa Bay with just one defenseman back as Vanek finished a 2-on-1 from the left faceoff circle with 7:14 left in the third for a 2-1 lead. St. Louis tied it 83 seconds later, one-timing Steven Stamkos' cross-ice pass past Miller.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay has outscored opponents 8-2 in the first period, while the Sabres have surrendered 16 goals and scored once in the opening session. … Buffalo LW Ville Leino (rib) was back in the lineup for the first time since the season opener and had an assist while Sabres D Mike Weber was placed on injured reserve with a thumb injury. … Lightning Ds Keith Aulie and Mark Barberio returned to the lineup for only second time this season as RW Pierre-Cedric Labrie and D Andrej Sustr were scratched.