Through two games, the Buffalo Sabres top line has yet to find its stride, but tonight vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, that should change.
In his first seven games last season, Buffalo Sabres star center Tage Thompson scored just three points, good for one goal and two assists. In Game 8 vs. the Chicago Blackhawks, Tage put up three, before scoring six on Halloween Night vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
He ended up leading the team in points, and he once again became their most dominant forward. And if you read my bold predictions for the week, you’ll know that I’m a big believer in Tage Thompson.
The Sabres second-leading scorer, Jeff Skinner, also took more than a few games to get going. He too scored just three points in seven contests, and scored zero goals until Game 7 of the season vs. the Montreal Canadiens.
Only Alex Tuch looked sharp in those first seven games, putting up eight points. But still, two-thirds of the Tage line struggled in the early going last season, and it’s something you’re seeing repeating itself in 2023-24.
Tonight is the ideal time for the Buffalo Sabres top line to breakout
This isn’t to say the Sabres top line hasn’t at least generated quite a few chances. As I noted in previous pieces, we at least started seeing signs of them playing decent hockey during the last two periods on Saturday, even if none of them found the net. Tonight vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, however, should be an ideal time for this trio to rediscover their game.
They will face either Jonas Johansson or Matt Tomkins tonight, and neither goaltender has shown us much yet this season. In three games, Tampa has allowed 14 goals, or 4.66 per, giving the Sabres top line a golden opportunity to score often.
The good news, however, is that the Sabres could also see even more productivity with the Mittelstadt line. This group accumulated five points on Saturday night (two for Zach Benson and Casey Mittelstadt, one for Jordan Greenway), and they too have a golden opportunity to continue their high-octane ways against a weaker goaltender in tonight’s outing.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)