Tage Thompson wrapped up a whirlwind stretch by scoring the opening goal in the Buffalo Sabres' 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
Thompson helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy on Sunday, partied with his Team USA teammates in Miami on Monday and attended the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Arizona native was still on the ice for the Sabres' skate Wednesday morning in New Jersey, and played an important role in Buffalo's 33rd win of the season. The 6-foot-6 forward made it clear the Olympic triumph has him craving more success.
"I was obviously very excited to party and hang out with the [Team USA] guys, but we have something very special going on here, too," Thompson told reporters. "I think that winning feeling that we've just got a taste of is pretty addicting."
Before the season, the Sabres franchise cornerstone made it clear helping the organization make a long-awaited return to the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs was his main goal. That hasn't changed.
"I'd like to continue to chase that feeling and do what we set out to do at the beginning of the season with this group of guys," Tage said. "Obviously been with a lot of them for quite some time now. To accomplish a goal that we set out to do with these guys would be very special."
Wednesday's win was important for a multitude of reasons. It pushed Buffalo's playoff chances to 91%, according to HockeyStats.com, and it helped ease some concerns after the Blue and Gold suffered three losses over their final four games before the Olympic break.
Thompson and Co. still have plenty of work left to clinch a postseason berth, though. That's important to keep in mind as we dive into the latest installment of our Sabres player grades series.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returns to help carry the Buffalo Sabres to a Feb. 25 win over the New Jersey Devils
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 9.5 |
Tage Thompson | 9 |
Peyton Krebs | 9 |
Josh Doan | 8.5 |
Josh Norris | 8 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 7.5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 7.5 |
Noah Ostlund | 7 |
Bowen Byram | 7 |
Michael Kesselring | 7 |
Jack Quinn | 6.5 |
Alex Tuch | 6 |
Tyson Kozak | 6 |
Jason Zucker | 5.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 5.5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 5 |
Owen Power | 4.5 |
Josh Dunne | 4.5 |
Zach Metsa | 3.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Luukkonen was unfortunately forced to miss a trip to the Olympics with Team Finland because of a lower-body injury suffered shortly before the break. Luckily for the Sabres, the three-week hiatus gave him a chance to fully recover before NHL play resumed.
The netminder was nearly perfect on Wednesday night. He stopped 27 of the 28 New Jersey shots sent in his direction, and several of them were Grade A saves. He kept the Devils off the scoreboard for over 57 minutes, which allowed Buffalo to build a 2-0 lead.
Even the goal UPL allowed came after several crease jams by the Devils, with Timo Meier eventually pushing the puck across the goal line. There's a chance it would have been overturned upon review, but Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff didn't want to risk a late penalty on a 50-50 challenge.
Luukkonen has now posted a .920 save percentage across his past 12 outings dating back to late December. It appears Buffalo may give him a chance to retake the full-time No. 1 goaltender job for the stretch run of the regular season.
Sabres quick hits
- Peyton Krebs put together one of his best performances of the season, providing a rare boost to the top line while Zach Benson recovers from a couple different injuries.
- Josh Norris, who was getting close to a return from injury before the hiatus, looked healthy and refreshed after the additional time off. He'll be crucial to the Sabres' success moving forward.
- Points remain elusive for Michael Kesselring, who's tallied no goals and a single assist across 25 games, but the rest of his game has shown signs of clear progress.
- A much better performance from Buffalo's fourth line of Josh Dunne, Tyson Kozak and Beck Malenstyn, who Ruff put on the ice for the game's opening faceoff.
- Another low-impact game for Zach Metsa, showing the Sabres' continued need for defensive depth ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline on March 6.
- Buffalo (33-19-6) returns to action Friday night (7 p.m. ET) when it visits Amerant Bank Arena for a critical clash with the Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers (29-25-3).