Something changed for Tage Thompson over the past two games. Perhaps he was motivated to prove the doubters wrong or maybe he felt his Team USA roster spot for the Olympics slipping way. Regardless of the reason, he's looked like a man on a mission.
Thompson scored a goal and an assist in a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, who simply outclassed the injury-riddled Sabres. He matched that stat line in the Blue and Gold's 5-4 overtime triumph against the Atlantic Division rival Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
The highlight came in overtime as the 6-foot-6 Buffalo franchise cornerstone overpowered the Wings' Alex DeBrincat to win the puck before finding Mattias Samuelsson for the game-winning goal.
"You see your best player do that, it obviously gives you energy through the bench," Samuelsson told reporters about Thompson's tremendous individual effort on his third-period goal. "... He was a dog tonight. Glad we've got him on our side."
If the 2023 NHL All-Star keeps playing at this level, combined with the recent return of Rasmus Dahlin, the Sabres will have a chance to save what was rapidly trending toward another lost season.
That leads us into the newest installment of our Sabres player grades series, which sees Tage atop the grade book for the second straight game.
Several Buffalo Sabres standouts in much-needed Nov. 15 win over the Detroit Red Wings
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Tage Thompson | 9.5 |
Josh Doan | 9 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 8.5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 8.5 |
Alex Tuch | 8 |
Ryan McLeod | 7.5 |
Michael Kesselring | 7 |
Jack Quinn | 7 |
Noah Ostlund | 6.5 |
Isak Rosen | 6 |
Owen Power | 5.5 |
Tyson Kozak | 5.5 |
Colten Ellis | 5 |
Jordan Greenway | 5 |
Bowen Byram | 4.5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 4 |
Josh Dunne | 3 |
Conor Timmins | 3 |
Peyton Krebs | 2.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Tage Thompson
Skating has been the most noticeable different for Thompson over the last two contests. He looked sluggish throughout the early stages of the campaign, which made it more difficult for him to attack the most dangerous areas of the ice.
The 28-year-old forward played far closer to his typical standard, which is a two-time 40-goal scorer, against the Avs and Wings. That's great news for a Sabres offense that'd been struggling while trying to overcome a rash of key injuries.
Thompson is one of the NHL's most unique offensive weapons when in top form given his size, speed and hands. He'll deserve a spot on the plane to Italy with Team USA in February if he's playing his best hockey when the final roster decisions are made.
After a concerning lull during Buffalo's losing skid, it appears the 2016 first-round pick is finally finding his game.
Sabres quick hits
- Josh Doan remains the team's most effective player on a game-to-game basis.
- Dahlin played one of his best games of the season after returning from Sweden to spend time with his fiancée, Carolina, while she continues her recovery from a heart transplant.
- Samuelsson re-emerging as an important defensive contributor for Buffalo is a great sign, but his offensive involvement is borderline shocking.
- Michael Kesselring was playing one of his best games as a Sabre before leaving with an injury.
- Colten Ellis didn't have a spectacular performance, but he deserves a lot of credit for keeping his team in the game to allow the comeback.
- The Sabres (6-8-4) will attempt to carry the momentum from Saturday's win into Monday night's (7 p.m. ET) clash with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (9-7-4) at the KeyBank Center.