Lightning Top Sabres 3-2 In Sweden

(AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the first of their back-to-back games against the Buffalo Sabres in Stockholm. Nikita Kucherov scored early in the first period and Andrei Vasilevskiy turned back 20 shots as the Bolts held off the Sabres, 3-2. Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde also scored in front of a sellout crowd in the Swedish capital. The Sabres dropped their fourth in a row despite Sam Reinhart’s two goals. Meanwhile, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the league plans to return to Europe for games in the next two years, beginning with a 2020-21 season opener between the Bruins and Predators in Prague. The Avalanche and Blue Jackets will play two games in Helsinki later next season.