The Paddock Report: Lightning 8, Sabres 3

Read that scoreline twice, because it tells most of the story. Tampa Bay walked into Buffalo and left with a five-goal margin, which in this league is not a close call. It's a message. Eight goals gets a team's attention, and it's the kind of number that keeps a fan base arguing the next morning about who showed up and who stayed home.

For Buffalo, three goals at home is a result that stings. The Sabres had their building and a chance to set the tone, and they came up well short on the scoreboard. We're working off the final score here, so take any talk of how the night flowed with a grain of salt. The tally still says Tampa cashed in eight times while Buffalo found the back of the net three.

For the Lightning, it's a statement of offensive firepower that should travel well beyond this one night. A blowout win on the road is never just two points. It's a reminder of what this group can do when the puck is bouncing its way, and a warning to everyone else on the schedule that the visitors came to play.

Buffalo will want the tape back on the table. Tampa will want the same thing for a different reason: to see whether this was a sign of something real or just a night when everything went right. Either way, the Stable will be feeding this one for days.