BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — With a sheepish smile and wave to the crowd, Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons was reminded of his past Saturday night when the Sabres aired a video tribute in honor of his first return since departing Buffalo last summer.
Memorable as his first 10 NHL seasons were with the Sabres, Girgensons has something more to look forward to in his first year in Tampa Bay — a chance to appear in his first career playoff game.
“Definitely just a lot of excitement,” the 31-year-old said following a 3-2 shootout loss, but with Tampa Bay clinching its eighth consecutive postseason berth with the New York Rangers’ 4-0 loss to New Jersey earlier in the day.
What might seem like old hat for a Lightning team heading to the postseason for the 11th time in 12 years, the experience is brand new for Girgensons. Selected in the first round of the 2012 draft, the player from Latvia spent 688 games on a Sabres team on the verge of extending its NHL-record postseason drought to a 14th season.
“Yeah, I mean, definitely that was the main reason why I came here with the players they have and the staff,” Girgensons said of the Lightning's rich playoff history and his decision to sign a three-year contract with Tampa Bay in free agency. “It was almost known, it’s possible to make it.”
And the work’s not done yet. The Lightning’s next objective is securing home-ice advantage in the first round by finishing second in the Atlantic Division, and with an outside shot of finishing first.
In earning a point against Buffalo, Tampa Bay opened a two-point lead on third-place Florida, but fell four points behind division-leading Toronto, with all three teams having six games remaining.
Home-ice advantage would provide a boost for a Lightning team that’s been eliminated in the first round in each of the past two years, and following a three-year run of reaching the Stanley Cup Final, winning in 2020 and ’21, and losing to Colorado in 2022.
Though 4-1-1 in its past six, Tampa Bay has dropped two straight, including a 2-1 loss at Ottawa on Thursday.
Against Buffalo, the Lightning squandered a 2-1 lead on Jason Zucker's power-play goal 5:07 into the third period, with Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch scoring shootout goals to secure the win.
It marked just the third time in 38 outings this season Tampa Bay lost when leading through two periods (35-1-2).
“We’ve clinched the playoff spot, which is all well and good, but we have to close those games out,” coach Jon Cooper said. “Hopefully you can somehow squeak out home ice. That’s why these points are valuable. So I commend the guys that got one (point). It’s too bad we didn’t get two.”
The Lightning might have lost in regulation if not for backup Jonas Johansson stopping 36 shots, including 12 in the third period. There was his glove save on JJ Peterka’s shot from the slot 8:35 into the third, and Johansson turned aside Tage Thompson’s attempt from in close with 63 seconds remaining in regulation.
“They make a lot of plays, so you’ve got to give them that,” Tampa Bay's Brayden Point said of Buffalo in a game in which he scored his 39th goal. “But I think Jo had to make far too many great saves just to keep us in it. And I think that’s something that we need to clean up, especially come playoff time.”
Girgensons said it took a couple of shifts to shake off the nerves in his homecoming. He then laughed when asked how he handled the video tribute in the first period.
“Not good. I don’t like attention, so I was hoping it’s not too long,” Girgensons said, before assessing the night overall. “It would have been a little bit nicer if we came out with the win.”
This story has been corrected to show that the Lightning lost to the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, not 2023.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning's Zemgus Girgensons (28) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Feb. 9, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Fred Couples was so unflappable during the first round of the Masters that not even a sound engineer for one of the broadcasts who wandered down the middle of the fairway as the 1992 champion was trying to tee off threw him out of sync.
Couples chipped in for birdie from left of the green at the first. He holed a hybrid from 191 yards for eagle at the 14th. And after finishing with four consecutive pars, the 65-year-old Couples signed for a tidy 1-under 71 on Thursday that made him the second-oldest player to shoot a subpar round at the Masters. Tom Watson was a month older when he shot 71 in 2015.
“I don't want to be a clown,” Couples said, “but I can play golf. I can play around here. If the weather is like this and not hard, I can — as long as I don't do crazy things — I can shoot 73 or 4 or 5. That's not embarrassing myself at all. If I do that, and did that today and come back with 70 or 71 tomorrow, the goal is for me to make the cut.”
Hard to believe that a year ago, Couples wondered whether Masters chairman Fred Ridley would want him to keep playing.
His back was bothering him again, he had just limped through rounds of 80 and 76 to miss the cut and it seemed like a whole lot more than 12 months since Couples had become the oldest player in Masters history to play the weekend.
It took a phone call with Steve Ethun, the chief tournament officer for the Masters, to reassure Couples he was welcome.
He certainly looked like he belonged on Thursday.
Sure, Couples may have been 25 yards behind playing partners Harris English and Taylor Pendrith off the tees. He has a bag full of hybrids rather than conventional irons. But more often than not, Couples had his bright yellow ball tracking toward the hole, or at least staying out of trouble — perhaps the most important factor in making the cut at the Masters.
“Yeah, he was great, just to kind of see how he plays this place,” said Pendrith, who shot 77. “I learned a few things from him for sure just watching him play. He’s played here many, many times. He played awesome today — 1-under par is a fantastic round. He played really steady. Just kind of missed it in the right places and pecked away.”
It was an eventful round, and not just because of the chip-in and the hole-out with the hybrid.
Couples was even-par when he arrived at the par-4 ninth, and Harris had struck his drive down the middle of the fairway. Couples was about to tee off himself when one of the sound engineers in a trailing group wandered Waldo-like into the picture.
Couples waved at him. So did one of the gallery volunteers. After a minute, Couples resorted to cracking jokes.
Once the fella finally moved, Couples cracked his tee shot down the middle. He hit his approach to 7 feet, playing it perfectly off the ridge running through the green, and rolled in the birdie putt as the spectators roared their approval.
It sounded just like an echo from Amen Corner in 1992, when Couples' ball defied gravity at the par-3 12th and refused to roll back into Rae's Creek. He proceeded to hold off Raymond Floyd by two and win the green jacket.
“He’s a legend in the game and a legend here,” Pendrith said. “It’s his 40th time playing the Masters. People love him. They show great respect to him. They’re all cheering for him. It was really cool to play with him in my first and his 40th.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Fred Couples waves after making a putt on the second hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Fred Couples chips to the green on the second hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Fred Couples reacts on the first hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Fred Couples waves after making a putt on the sixth hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Fred Couples walks to the green on the third hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Fred Couples hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the first round at the Masters golf tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
