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We’re still waiting for a hockey game to break out at KeyBank Center during what felt like an hours-long melee between the Sabres and Lightning on Sunday night.
The game was an absolute brawl.
Just a few minutes into the Sabres’ 8–7 win over the Lightning, Tampa Bay forwards Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel laid a big hit on Sabres center Tage Thompson right next to the boards. Thompson’s teammates didn’t like it—and a giant brawl broke out on the ice.
Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh squared up with Rasmus Dahlin and took him down.
SOME ROUGH STUFF BETWEEN THE SABRES AND BOLTS LEADS TO DARREN RADDYSH FEEDING RASMUS DAHLIN PUNCHES 😱🫨 pic.twitter.com/3zTwdjJoKE
But ladies and gentleman, they were just getting started.
About five minutes of game time later, it was Sam Carrick going head-to-head against Scott Sabourin near Tampa Bay’s net.
SAM CARRICK DROPS THE GLOVES WITH SCOTT SABOURIN FOR A QUICK BOUT 🥊 pic.twitter.com/ZmnemlBosp
And then things really escalated. A scrap broke out behind Tampa Bay’s net with 10:47 remaining in the first period and lasted several minutes. As the referees tried to separate both teams, Lightning winger Brandon Hagel and Sabres center Peyton Krebs slipped away to start a one-on-one fight of their own.
IT'S AN ALL-OUT MELEE IN BUFFALO!!
A BIG SCUM BEHIND THE NET LEADS TO A FIGHT BETWEEN BRANDON HAGEL AND PEYTON KREBS 🫨🥊 pic.twitter.com/etpscwyRDf
When all was said and done, the penalty boxes looked like this:
That, however, was just the first period. The second period started with a bang, as two fights broke out in the opening seconds.
WE GOT BACK-TO-BACK FIGHTS TO START THE 2ND PERIOD AND THIS ONE FEATURED BECK MALENSTYN DROPPING COREY PERRY 😱🫨 pic.twitter.com/UUEaO90vOY
Bodies got piled up yet again just a few minutes later.
BRANDON HAGEL STARTS THROWING PUNCHES AT RASMUS DAHLIN AND WE GOT ANOTHER DOGPILE pic.twitter.com/FeN9PNXF1t
At the start of the third period, the Lightning had been whistled for 15 penalties for 53 total penalty minutes, while the Sabres had 11 penalties for 45 minutes. The final horn sounded on Sabres’ 8–7 win over the Lightning with 27 penalties for a combined 102 penalty minutes on the score sheet.
That’s right—a total of one hour and 40 minutes of time in the penalty box. (A reminder: NHL hockey games are only 60 minutes long.)
The actual hockey was pretty great, too. Buffalo jumped out to a 3–0 lead but found itself down 7–5 early in the third period. Goals by Rasmus Dahlin, Jason Zucker and Josh Doan in the final nine minutes gave the Sabres an 8–7 victory on an emotional, violent night at KeyBank Center.
A game which, of course, ended with one last brawl.
SABRES HOLD ON AND WE HAVE ONE LAST BRAWL FOR OLE TIMES SAKE!!! 🔥
WHAT. A. GAME. 😭 pic.twitter.com/H9aDiTyO7X
The Sabres are now 39-19-6 and jumped ahead of Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division with 84 points. The Lightning sit in second with 82 points, although they’ve played two fewer games than Buffalo.
What a list.
Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.
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