The Buffalo Sabres continued their surge Thursday night, riding a dominant performance from Tage Thompson to a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center.
Thompson recorded a hat trick and added two assists, reaching the 200-goal milestone of his NHL career in the process. His second goal of the night proved decisive, snapping a 3-3 tie at 5:12 of the third period when he took a feed from Josh Doan in the slot and beat Jacob Fowler inside the left post. Thompson later sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:20 for his ninth career hat trick.
Doan finished with a goal and an assist, while Alex Tuch also scored for Buffalo, which improved to 26-16-4 (56 points) and earned its 15th win in the past 17 games. Noah Ostlund chipped in two assists, and Colten Ellis made 20 saves in net as the Sabres won their 10th game in the last 12 at home.
Montreal received goals from Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov, with Caufield and Suzuki each adding an assist. Fowler stopped 22 shots in the loss as the Canadiens dropped their third game in the past four.
Buffalo erased deficits twice before pulling ahead for good in the third period, showcasing a power play that accounted for two goals and steady pressure late.
The Sabres wrap up a five-game homestand on Saturday when they welcome the Minnesota Wild to town for a 12:30 p.m. faceoff.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].