BUFFALO, N.Y. — A few weeks ago, the Buffalo Sabres beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-7 in a game that had 102 penalty minutes, five fights and the type of emotion that’s usually reserved for the postseason.

On Monday, the two teams met for a rematch. The sequel didn’t have the same fisticuffs. There were 26 combined penalty minutes, but none were for fighting and only eight were for roughing. The Sabres didn’t mind, though. After back-to-back losses on the road, they returned home to play in front of a rowdy crowd in Buffalo for the first time since ending a league-record playoff drought. The Sabres fed off that energy and put together one of their most complete performances in weeks.

“This was a big game for us,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “This was a big test for us tonight, because we knew how big this game was. We knew it was against the team that was sitting there just ahead of us. We didn’t play well in the previous two games, and good teams know how to have some pushback. And I thought our guys had great pushback.”

Meanwhile, Lightning coach Jon Cooper left Buffalo frustrated, both with his team’s performance and the officiating. He thought those were the reasons this game didn’t get as heated as the last one did.

“A little bit frustrating, just the way the game went,” Cooper said. “So many penalties that weren’t even penalties. I don’t know. Maybe there was the fear of the two teams having fun out there. ‘Nope, let’s just call it.’ So many penalties that it just took away from the flow of the game. That didn’t help either team, I thought … It changes the way both teams play. I mean, what are we doing? Every time you touch somebody it’s a penalty? Come on. Let the teams play. That’s why everybody filled this building tonight. It sucked the fun out of the game.”

The Sabres and their fans still found a way to enjoy themselves. The Lightning were without Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli, two of the main agitators from the first matchup. Before the game, Sabres fans were in the parking lot taking turns punching a dummy with Hagel’s face taped on it. Ruff got a kick out of that.

“I saw a few clips before the game where they had the Hagel thing, and people were punching the Hagel dummy on the way into the building,” Ruff said. “I just think that’s part of it: everybody’s into it. I think our fans have been waiting for this for a while.”

They carried that energy into the building. By the time the Sabres were taking the ice, forward Jason Zucker said the building was about as loud as he had ever heard it. That helped them get back to playing with the intensity that defined their game for months.

Some of the Sabres’ best players led the way in this game. Alex Tuch scored the game’s first goal right after coming out of the penalty box, putting an extra charge into the crowd. After Nikita Kucherov scored to tie the game, Josh Norris broke a nine-game goal drought with a quick wrist shot from the face-off dot.

Jake Guentzel scored early in the second period to tie the game, but the Sabres answered a few minutes later when Zucker deflected a shot from Bowen Byram. Then the Sabres did what they have done so well for most of the season and protected a late lead.

“I just thought we looked like the team that had been playing all year,” Ruff said. “We got a little out of sync in the Ottawa (and) Washington games. Spent a lot of time looking at a lot of stuff this morning with the group and talking about how we need to play. And I thought the guys put in a great effort.”

Now the Sabres and Lightning are tied with 102 points, with the Montreal Canadiens right behind at 100. The Lightning have a game in hand on both teams, while the Sabres and Lightning both hold the regulation wins tiebreaker over the Canadiens. Home-ice advantage and playoff matchups are still very much up in the air with four regular-season games to go.

But more importantly, the Sabres were glad to get whatever had been ailing them out of their system.

“It’s tough, we’ve been on such a good run there and we’re not making excuses for ourselves, but it was bound to come to an end at some point,” Byram said. “Hopefully that’s behind us and we can stack a few more wins together before the end here.”

Tampa Bay’s Pontus Holmberg left the game in the third period after a hit against the boards and the penalty box door. (Joe Hrycych / Getty Images)

Quick hits

1. Cooper’s complaints with the officials didn’t stop with the penalties. He was also upset about a play that injured Pontus Holmberg. Peyton Krebs hit Holmberg, who crashed into the penalty box door, which popped open slightly. Guentzel was about to get out of the box. But Cooper went out of his way to call out the penalty box official.

“I don’t know who’s working the penalty box over there, but I don’t know if they should keep their job after what happened there, like, leaving the door open,” Cooper said. “That could have hurt anybody on either team. Those are just dangerous situations, so a little frustrated on my part.”

2. Tuch’s goal was the highlight of his night, but he made a huge impact on this game. He mentioned that he’d been dealing with a minor injury earlier this month but is now feeling closer to 100 percent, which showed in his skating and how he affected the game at both ends of the ice. Tuch finished with six shots on goal and eight individual scoring chances. The Sabres are a tough team to handle when Tuch is playing like that.

“I just got to keep skating, that’s a big component of my game,” Tuch said. “If I can continue to do that, I can be a lot more effective than I have been of late.”

3. The Sabres got another steady effort from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who is looking more and more like the team’s starting goalie to start the playoffs. He stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced, including all four high-danger shots, and was particularly sharp early in the game. He’s now allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his 14 starts since the Olympic break.

4. Luke Schenn drew into the lineup for the first time since March 14 and played a solid game. He and Logan Stanley were on the ice for the Lightning’s second goal against when Stanley tried to clear the puck up the boards, but Krebs didn’t get to it in time. That led to a turnover that created a prime chance for Guentzel, but Schenn was steady, bringing some of the sturdiness Ruff was looking for in front of Buffalo’s net.

“We’ve got some guys in the back we can utilize for different opportunities,” Ruff said. “We felt this was going to be a game where we needed him. We needed his heaviness. I think his penalty killing was good. I thought he knocked a few people over. I thought, overall, his puck play was good inside the game, kept the game in front of him like any good player would do.”