With hats strewn on the KeyBank Center ice, Tage Thompson was greeted by hugs and pats on the back upon returning to the Buffalo Sabres’ bench.
Thompson had just accomplished a milestone that alluded him in 190 NHL games. The 24-year-old’s shot from the slot clinched his first career hat trick and continued a statement performance by the Sabres’ top line.
Only 24 hours earlier, coach Don Granato cautioned that Thompson won’t always center Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner. With Casey Mittelstadt back, and two additional outstanding young centers in Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs, the Sabres were too early in their development to commit to one trio atop the lineup, said Granato.
Thompson's line responded with a combined 10 shots on goal Saturday afternoon, but this wasn’t an impressive performance by only one line or one player. More was needed to have a chance against the NHL’s best team, the Colorado Avalanche, and in front of an announced crowd of 10,526, Buffalo delivered.
Thompson recorded the Sabres’ second hat trick in seven days – Skinner had a four-goal game last Sunday in Montreal – and goalie Dustin Tokarski delivered 31 saves in a battle of wills that ended in a 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Sabres (16-26-8) scored the only goal of the second period, Thompson’s third of the game, to have the score tied entering the final 20 minutes. The Avalanche regained the lead on a Alex Newhook goal with 11:03 remaining that occurred following a controversial missed call in which Rasmus Dahlin was dropped to the ice behind Colorado’s net, and Buffalo couldn't break through for another tying marker during a 17-shot third period. Mikko Rantanen added an empty-net goal with 51.5 seconds remaining.
"Yeah, it’s tough," lamented Mittelstadt when asked about the no-call. "On the flip side of things, we proved to ourselves that we can play with anyone and if we play with that compete and that hard. I think we had them pushed back in the third there. We were flying around and playing the way we want to play. Seeing that for us, as a group, I know it’s not the result we wanted, but it’s got to give us some belief that we know we’re there and we can play with anyone."
This was no small feat. The Avalanche (36-9-4) lead the NHL in points, wins and points percentage. Their 19-game point streak ended Tuesday and since Jan. 1, they had allowed a league-low 2.05 goals per game. Colorado had only two regulation losses since Dec. 1.
This wasn’t quite a coming-of-age performance for the upstart Sabres, but it was the response Granato wanted after a 3-1 loss to Ottawa on Thursday night. And with both teams deploying an attacking style of play, Buffalo never appeared overwhelmed. Its forward lines and defense pairs mostly fared well against an Avalanche team that went 13-1-1 over its previous 15 games, outscoring opponents 50-26 during that span.
If it wasn’t for a difficult first period for Tokarski, Colorado likely would have trailed after 20 minutes for only the 12th time this season. Instead, the Avalanche led 3-2 at the first intermission – Colorado was 21-0 when leading in that situation – striking quickly in response to Thompson’s two goals.
Nathan MacKinnon slid the puck through Tokarski’s five-hole only 45 seconds after Thompson’s first of the game, and Nazem Kadri's high shot made it 3-2 for Colorado merely 20 seconds after Thompson beat goalie Darcy Kuemper with a quick shot from the slot.
Survival in the second period required multiple highlight-reel saves from Tokarski, none more impressive than diving to his right to use the paddle of his stick to stop Kadri. The Sabres, like they did in a 4-1 loss in Denver on Jan. 30, matched Colorado’s speed, though, and showed more flashes of their potential.
"I think the team responded well after the last game," said Thompson. "That’s not our standard. That’s not what we’re about and everyone in the room knows that. I think we showed up today with the right attitude, the right mindset and focus going into the game."
The Sabres’ top line didn’t fold when matched up against MacKinnon, Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. But the Avalanche’s star-studded trio wasn’t on the ice when Thompson sprung Skinner for a breakaway that Kuemper stopped with his left pad.
Moments later, Thompson tied the score, 3-3, by beating defenseman Devon Toews to a loose puck in front and unleashing a turn-around shot for a goal with 7:06 remaining in the second period. Thompson has 19 goals and 37 points in 46 games. He had 18 goals in 145 NHL games before this season. Thompson has 21 points in his last 19 games, while Tuch picked up an assist for his 20th point in his 18th game with Buffalo and Skinner had two assists.
"You grow up, you want to play in the NHL and those are the little dreams you have," said Thompson. "Scoring a hat trick, winning Stanley Cups. For one of those to come true and get a hat trick, it’s a cool feeling."
The Sabres failed to score on their only power play, but they came close to rallying against an opponent that has a league-best 72 goals in the third period. The presence of a third capable scoring line -- Mittelstadt, Rasmus Asplund and Kyle Okposo -- contributed to the push in the final 20 minutes. With Mittelstadt healthy, Cozens and Krebs progressing, and Thompson amid a breakout season, Buffalo finally has the forward depth to keep up with the league's best.
"To have that third line depth of danger was real exciting for me watching it because you see the potential we have, the future we have with the talent that we have coming," said Granato. "It’s young talent. That’s why tonight was a big game. … You saw that depth. Very dangerous, very effective."
Here are other observations from the game Saturday afternoon:
1. Making progress
Mittelstadt impressed Granato in his return from a five-game absence, narrowly missing a goal in the first period and finishing with 15:10 of ice time. Mittelstadt won 80% of his faceoffs – the Sabres rank last in the league in winning draws – and his line had a team-best 66.67% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when on the ice.
2. Another step
Mattias Samuelsson has experienced some difficult moments in recent weeks, but this was his best game since before the All-Star break. The Sabres had a plus-6 shot-attempt differential at 5-on-5 when the 21-year-old was on the ice. Samuelsson took a bad penalty in the second period, but he and Casey Fitzgerald played well as a pair.
3. Opening goal
Despite the immediate response from Colorado, the Sabres’ first goal of the game was meaningful. Colorado entered Saturday with a 28-0-3 record when scoring the game’s opening goal, compared to 7-9-1 when its opponent scored first. Thompson struck first at 2:50 into the game with a quick shot from near the left faceoff dot after Tuch won a puck battle along the wall and Skinner made a precise pass. Buffalo was outshot 8-1 over the first six minutes of the game.
The goal also ended Kuemper’s shutout streak at 146 minutes, 56 seconds.
4. Next
The Sabres will play the second game of the back-to-back Sunday in Columbus’ Nationwide Arena against the Blue Jackets (24-23-1) at 6 p.m. Craig Anderson is expected to start in goal for Buffalo.
