Coach Don Granato gives the Buffalo Sabres some attaboys after every win and the team has posted several of the quick chats on social media. The one that took place late Wednesday night in Columbus was definitely unique.
Granato emptied his pockets of pucks, handing all five that landed in the net back to Tage Thompson after the Buffalo center shredded the team and NHL record books with just the second five-goal game in franchise history to lead his team to a 9-4 rout. It was only the sixth five-goal output in the NHL since 2000.
"That was fun ... pretty special to be able to do that at the highest level, the NHL," Granato said after practice Thursday afternoon in KeyBank Center. "To know and watch how many hours and obstacles Tage Thompson has put in and had to overcome made it really, really special to be handing it to him. I said this morning to the group that as a coach, it's very enjoyable to see the rest of the team participate in each person's success. And they were unbelievably happy for Tage each goal."
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Donny G with the deep pockets 😂Congratulations, Tommer! pic.twitter.com/a3woknkZl6
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 8, 2022
"I think the main goal is you want to win, right? It's a team sport," Thompson said Thursday as reporters swarmed his locker for extended chat in the dressing room. "We're playing good hockey lately. I think we still have a long ways to go and we can continue to get better as a group and there's still things ... we can continue to do to help our team, whether it's being better in a defensive zone, or better in draws, just being consistent. I think you always have more you can bring to the table. So I think it's just kind of that mindset of not being satisfied."
Thompson's dynamic, historic performance, combined with a goal by four different Sabres, propelled Buffalo to a 9-4 rout of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He finished with six points, tying the career-high he set Halloween night.
Thompson's huge night was big news on both sides of the border and got the "Best Thing I Saw Today" headline-opening treatment on ESPN's "SportsCenter." And the official feed of EA Sports, which produces the NHL 23 video game, tweeted, "We need to go make Tage Thompson a 99 overall (rating) immediately."
Thompson needed only 12½ minutes to ring up a hat trick and tied the NHL record for goals in a period with four in the first 16:40 of the game. That was the second-fastest quartet of goals from the start of a game in league history – surpassed only by Hamilton's Joe Malone in 1921.
"I think you're hungry for more," Thompson said. "I got four in the first there. Obviously, there's still a lot of hockey left. So I was trying to see how many I could get. And I think everyone on the bench too was excited to see if I can get another one and another one. So it's just something a little more fun I guess, trying to see how many you can get. I'm excited about five."
Two times in two weeks for Tommer 😎@notthefakeSVP | @espn pic.twitter.com/ePRYFinU3M
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 8, 2022
With 21 goals and 40 points in 26 games heading into Friday's game here against Pittsburgh, Thompson is on pace for an astonishing 66 goals and 126 points. He entered Thursday third in the NHL in goals, three shy of Edmonton's Connor McDavid, and fourth in points.Â
Thompson's line with Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch on the wings has become one of the NHL's most dangerous. The trio totaled 14 points Wednesday, with Thompson joining New York Rangers center Mike Zibanejad (2021) as the only players since Mario Lemieux in 1989 with multiple three-goal and six-point games in a season. Thompson's five goals equaled Dave Andreychuk's franchise record (1986) and was one shy of the post-expansion NHL mark set by St. Louis' Red Berenson (1968) and Toronto's Darryl Sittler (1976).
Peyton Krebs scanned the visitors’ dressing room Wednesday morning while trying to decide which of his teammates was the best at the pregame ritual.
"On my goal I was still I was looking for him but there were three guys around him so I was like, 'I gotta shoot this puck,' " said Tuch, who scored the Sabres' ninth goal while the game was still in the second period. "We were trying. It's definitely an unbelievable feat to even get five goals, but we were pushing. We wanted eight. You always want more."
At 5-on-5 according to Evolving-Hockey.com, the line is second in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes among trios that have played at least 200 minutes (5.06). The goals for percentage of 67.8% ranks third. In the last five games, Thompson has 14 points, Skinner has 10 and Tuch has seven.Â
"Chemistry has been rolling pretty good lately," Tuch said. "Last 10 games or so we've held each other more accountable. We're open about talking about certain plays and with new linemates, it's maybe difficult to say certain things. But if I'm not skating, 'Tommer' is out there to say, 'Hey Tuchie, start moving your feet.'
"If Tommer isn't shooting the puck or making a play, I'm not afraid to be like, 'Hey, you should look to do this next time.' And same with Jeff. It's pushing each other to be better. And when a guy is that hot, he's so hot that all you want to do is get him the puck."
" ... when you have an influx of more youth, you have less experience. And when you have less experience, you have more game-changing situations and plays and everything else," Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato said.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan doesn't want Thompson with the puck during the team's home-and-home set this weekend, which shifts to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Joked Sullivan on the game plan against Thompson when asked Thursday: "We're going to try to stop him from scoring five goals."
The Sabres are 5-2-1 in their last eight games and 3-0-1 in their last four against the Penguins, including a 6-3 win here on Nov. 2. But Pittsburgh has rallied from a rough start to go 10-2-2 in its last 14 games. The Sabres remain seventh in the Atlantic Division and need to keep collecting points.
"You pay attention to the standings. you know where you are. You're not oblivious to that," Thompson said. "But I think when you see the big picture, and you know where you want to be, that's when you tone it back to how can we win this five-game stretch? How can we win this one game? How can we win this shift? And I think that's kind of the way you got to approach it."
Thompson said he got texts from his father, Bridgeport Islanders coach Brent Thompson, after the game and again Thursday morning.
"He was quick to congratulate me but remind me that there's a lot more you can do and tomorrow's a new day," Thompson said. "It's a good reminder. You don't want to get kind of carried away and I think that's kind of what leads to complacency and when that happens, that's the downfall of your game. You've always got to stay hungry."
