- Tage Thompson scored twice in Buffalo’s 3-2 win over the Kings, including the go-ahead power-play goal
- Thompson passed Rene Robert for ninth on the Sabres’ all-time goals list
- Read below for the Sabres’ power-play turnaround and how the road trip ended
Tage Thompson keeps scoring, and now he has a spot in the Sabres record book to show for it.
The Buffalo center scored twice in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, including the go-ahead power-play goal at 13:40 of the third period. He now has 223 goals in 502 games with the Sabres, passing Rene Robert (222) for ninth in franchise history.
That goal came after the Sabres blew a 2-0 lead. Thompson hammered a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-slot pass from Jack Quinn. Watch the goal:
Thompson’s first goal made it 2-0 at 15:38 of the second period, a snap shot from the right circle off a Zach Benson pass on the rush. Quinn had opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first. Here’s the second Thompson goal:
That is five goals in two games for Thompson. He scored a natural hat trick in the 7-6 win over the Ducks on Thursday, and the two against Los Angeles put him at 10 on the season.
Thompson was asked about the hot stretch and kept it simple.
“Most of the time, I feel like you try not to focus on the results, just the process,” Thompson said. “If you’re getting scoring chances, if you’re generating offense, that means you’re doing the right things.”
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said goal-scorers tend to bounce out of a cold stretch in bunches, and he liked the chemistry on Thompson’s line with Benson over the last couple of games.
The power play is a big part of the turnaround. Buffalo went 2-for-3 with the man advantage for the second straight game after starting 1-for-19 over its previous six. Ruff pointed to getting Rasmus Dahlin back from his upper-body injury, which let the first unit play together again.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 27 shots. Corey Perry scored his first goal of the season for the Kings, who fell to 4-7-2, and Andre Lee tied it 2-2 early in the third.
The win gave Buffalo three straight at 7-4-3 and a seven-game road point streak (4-0-3). The Sabres took seven of a possible eight points on the trip and head home with Thompson on a tear.
