TAMPA, Fla. -- Ben Bishop was back for the first time in three weeks, and the goalie's healthy return helped the Tampa Bay Lightning end a four-game losing streak, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Thursday night at Amalie Arena.

"It was nice to get the competitive juices flowing," said Bishop, who had 24 saves after giving up a goal on Buffalo's first shot. "Taking care of this home ice before we go on the road is big, against a team that was right on our heels, and we're chasing teams, too. Any way you can get points is important."

Tampa Bay (20-19-4) got two goals from Ondrej Palat, rallying from an early deficit to cool off the Sabres (16-16-9), who were 3-0-1 in their last four.

Tampa Bay put the game away with an empty-net goal from defenseman Anton Stralman -- his second this season -- with 18 seconds left.

"We bent a little bit but we didn't break, and I thought Bish had a lot to do with that," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "The saves he made, the way he played the puck, obviously, it's good to have him back."

Buffalo trailed 3-1 in the third but got within a goal with 9:30 left on Evander Kane's 11th goal of the season, shooting a rebound past Bishop. The Lightning had two chances while short-handed, but Palat missed two chances at a hat trick, missing on a 2-on-1 and then on a breakaway within the same penalty kill.

A fight with 4:33 left in the game gave the Lightning a power play -- the Sabres' Brian Gionta was called for two minutes for roughing and Buffalo's Marcus Foligno and Tampa Bay's Cedric Paquette each five minutes for fighting. Buffalo killed off that penalty, but with 2:17, another power play came for Tampa Bay when Kane was called for high-sticking and unsportsmanlike conduct. Buffalo didn't get a shot in the final 4:33 as a result of their extended short-handed play.

"We weren't moving our feet. We weren't doing a good job of accepting their speed and couldn't get anything going on our forecheck," Buffalo's Brian Gionta said. "When we got the puck, we weren't moving, supporting each other. We just could never get our feet moving."

Both teams have back-to-back games ahead, with Buffalo traveling to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night and the Lightning staying home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Lightning came in having lost four straight and having given up 22 goals in those four losses. Bishop only faced one shot in the first 10 minutes, but Buffalo scored on it, as Matt Moulson scored his ninth goal of the season just 2:58 into the game for a 1-0 lead.

The Lightning got back on a 5-for-3 power play, with Buffalo taking two penalties 77 seconds apart -- Tampa Bay came in with the NHL's No. 2 power play, facing the league's worst penalty-kill unit in Buffalo. Ondrej Palat converted the 5-on-3 with a goal with 14:23 left in the first on an assist from Tyler Johnson, tying the game and shifting momentum back to the Lightning.

"It was a tough first period in a lot of ways," Kane said. "We got a good goal, and then PK there on some questionable calls. We gave up the 5-on-3 goal, which is tough to kill out anytime."

Tampa Bay dominated the second period, scoring two goals on eight shots against Buffalo goalie Anders Nilsson. Palat scored his second goal of the game -- and ninth of the season -- on a rebound from a Nikita Nesterov shot for a 2-1 lead. With 7:02 left in the second, Tampa Bay extended its lead to 3-1 when Nikita Kucherov scored his 17th goal of the season on an assist from defenseman Victor Hedman. Bishop stopped 14 shots in the first two periods after giving up the early goal.

NOTES: The Lightning got the long-awaited return of G Ben Bishop, who missed nine games with a lower-body injury suffered Dec. 20. Andrei Vasilevskiy had stepped in well at first, going 3-1-1 in his first five after the injury, but lost the next four as Tampa Bay gave up 22 goals in those losses. ... Former Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, who will become the first Tampa Bay player to have his jersey retired Friday night, drew big cheers as the guest for the ceremonial puck drop before the game. ... Tampa Bay played without RW Ryan Callahan, who missed a second straight game with a lower-body injury. ... C Gabriel Dumont, who played in 18 games over four seasons with Montreal, made his Tampa Bay debut after being called up from AHL Syracuse. ... D Luke Witkowski was a healthy scratch. ... The Sabres played without G Robin Lehner, who is battling illness, and D Josh Gorges, who missed a third straight game with a hip injury.