Kucherov has natural hat trick in Lightning’s 8-3 romp over Sabres
Jasmine Hsu has been covering sports in Buffalo for over 6 years, specializing in women's sports and local college athletics. After graduating from Niagara University, she worked for the Buffalo News and has a reputation for advocating for equitable coverage in the sports arena. Jasmine's work aims to highlight underrepresented voices in sports.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov had a natural hat trick and an assist — all in the third period — and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 8-3 on Wednesday night for their fourth victory in five games. Kucherov, the Russian star who requested a trade Oct. 30, had his eighth NHL hat trick after the Sabres scored three in a row to cut it to 4-3. Brandon Hagel scored twice, John Carlson had a goal and four assists, and Scott Sabourin and Yanni Gourde also scored. Jake Guentzel had four assists, and Anthony Cirelli added three, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves. Josh Doan, Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson scored for the Sabres, who have lost three of their last four. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made nine saves on 14 shots and Colten Ellis stopped five of eight shots in relief. Thompson cut it to 4-3 33 seconds into the third period, but Kucherov soon took over, scoring his first two in a 2:46 span.