BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Tampa Bay Lightnings offense looks fine so far minus captain Steven Stamkos.A few acrobatic saves by goalie Ben Bishop didnt hurt either.Nikita Kucherov scored to increase his team-leading point total to 22, and Alex Killorn snapped a 10-game goal drought in leading a the Lightning to a 4-1 victory over the injury-depleted and scoring challenged Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.Tampa Bay won its third straight, and improved to 6-2-1 in its past nine in its first game since Stamkos was sidelined by a torn ligament in his right knee.Obviously, were going to miss him. Hes a great leader. Its just one of those things where youve got to step up, said Bishop, who stopped 32 shots. Youve got to go more as a team effort because you cant rely on your big dog to come through. ... But weve got a lot of big dogs here.The Lightning were certainly barking with a spread-out attack that also included goals from Nikita Nesterov and Brayden Point, while Valtteri Filppula set up two goals with no-look passes.Its a necessary approach for a team that will be missing its two-time NHL scoring champion, who is expected to be sidelined for four months after having surgery earlier in the day.We know the drill and its going to be up to certain guys to kind of fill it up, said Killorn, who also had an assist. Thats 40 goals a year, and weve got to kind of make up for it.Its a different story for Buffalo, which continues to struggle to overcome its growing number of injuries.The Sabres are winless in their past six (0-4-2), a stretch in which theyve managed just six goals.It must be a joke right now: If you score two goals against the Buffalo Sabres youre going to win the game, forward Evander Kane said. Weve got to end that.Buffalo is playing without two top-line forwards, Ryan OReilly (mid-section) and Jack Eichel (left ankle), and two regular defensemen, Zach Bogosian (knee) and Dmitry Kulikov (lower back).Except for defenseman Cody Franson scoring on the power play, the Sabres couldnt buy a goal against Bishop.The most telling moment came a little over three minutes into the second period, when Bishop played the puck behind his own net and inexplicably sent a pass through the middle. The puck landed directly on the stick of Sabres forward Kyle Okposo, who snapped a shot at the wide-open net.Bishop, however, scrambled back and dived across the crease to glove the shot.Its a 1-0 game at that point and I just though he was completely out of it and wanted to make sure I settled it for a half second and shot it, Okposo said, before letting out a sigh. He made a heck of a save.Phew, said Bishop.I dove and I felt it hit my glove and I was kind of like, `Are you kidding me? Bishop said. Sometimes its good to be a little lucky, I guess.He was fortunate again in the second period when defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen slipped a shot through his legs only to have the puck dribble wide of the left post. Bishop did make several big stops on forward Sam Reinhart parked in front.Kucherovs goal with 18 seconds remaining in the second period proved to be a backbreaker for Buffalo. It allowed the Lightning to reclaim a two-goal lead after Franson had cut the margin seven minutes earlier.Killorn pounced on a turnover in Buffalos zone and fed Kucherov, who drove to left circle. Kucherov then snapped a shot that beat goalie Robin Lehner, who was screened by Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson.Game notes Lightning LW Jonathan Drouin returned after missing seven games with an upper body injury. ... The Sabres Dan Bylsma became the NHLs 66th coach to reach 500 games. ... Franson became Buffalos first defenseman to score a goal this season. ... D Anton Stralman (upper body) missed his third straight game and is not expected to miss the final two games of Lightings five-game road trip.UP NEXTLightning: At Philadelphia on Saturday.Sabres: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Cheap Shoes From China . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Discount Shoes Online Free Shipping . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. http://www.cheapshoesclearance.com/ .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Wholesale Shoes China . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Shoes From China Online . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. When Clay Smith catapulted the Western Bulldogs into a historic AFL grand final on Saturday night, hed already overcome plenty of dark moments.After enduring three knee reconstructions in as many years, the resilient midfielder would have barely dared to dream hed be the man to guide his team to a first season decider in 55 years.But that wasnt the only inspiration behind Smiths four-goal haul against Greater Western Sydney, with the 23-year-old revealing a close friend had died earlier in the week.The team wore black armbands during their six-point triumph at Sydneys Spotless Stadium.Afterwards, Smith was overwhelmed by emotion.Its unbelievable, mate, he said.We were written off probably at the start of the finals series.Weve just overcome so much - I lost one of my best mates on Monday during the week.So this games for Daisy and I ... love him.Footy does wonders. Ive been through some daark times but its all worth it (because) were going to a grand final next week.ddddddddddddmith also notched 26 touches and eight tackles during the heated to-and-fro affair - his 12th match back after recovering from his most-recent ACL injury.The Gippsland product fought his way back into the squad in round 15, since playing an integral role in the Bulldogs unlikely premiership push.Dogs coach Luke Beveridge said it was a laudable achievement given hed made just 18 appearances across three seasons before this year.We just kept getting off the canvas and Clay epitomises that, Beveridge said.He lost a mate during the week so hes had an emotional time.For him to perform the way he did tonight and inspire his teammates, you cant think highly enough of Clay Smith. ' ' '