While it’s no secret the Sabres 2024-25 season went from bad to worse thanks to a 13-game losing streak that somehow ended with a thrashing of the New York Islanders shortly before the break, they’re still every bit as in it alongside the league’s other 31 teams. Yeah, go ahead and laugh if you want, but stranger things have happened in the world of sports.
Hey, if the Sabres play like that for most of the second half of the season, they’ll shock the league and force their way into the playoffs. But it’s probably not happening unless one player steps up and starts taking over games.
The player in question is Tage Thompson, who has a solid 17 goals and 27 points in 2024-25. But he needs to look like the player he was back in 2022-23 and then some if he plans on helping the Blue and Gold find their way back to the playoffs.
Tage would, at minimum, need to average at least a half-goal per game from here on out and the same must be said in terms of generating some much-needed assists, as he’s got only 10 so far this season.
Sabres center Tage Thompson must start taking over games
Tage has been this team’s best scorer and points producer for a while now, and if he plays consistent hockey, or more than consistent hockey, for the rest of the 2024-25 season, his success will rub off on some teammates.
Players like Alex Tuch (28 points and 12 goals), JJ Peterka (26 points and 10 goals), and Jason Zucker (23 points and nine goals) are just a handful of players who will benefit from Tage’s uptick. Plus, given the team’s overall struggles to stop opponents when they don’t have the puck this season if Tage is scoring, then they’re struggling to keep up.
Yeah, the reality is that the Sabres would likely need to average four goals per game if they plan on winning unless they can fix their defensive and goaltending woes. But the upside is that Tage can be among the best scorers in the game, something he’s proven over the past few seasons, even when he’s banged up.
Heading into Friday’s win against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Sabres were 10 points out of a top-four spot in the Atlantic, so they got more than just some ground to make up. But Tage getting hot at the right time (and staying healthy, hopefully) will help negate that and allow the Sabres to make a potential run.