Thompson gives Sabres OT win against Flames

CALGARY -- Tage Thompson scored 3:07 into overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 1-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.

Thompson scored unassisted when Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom failed to clear the puck from the hashmarks, resulting in a turnover that Thompson slid into the empty net for his team-leading 25th goal of the season.
"Just came right off the bench and icing, tried to beat it out and the goalie came out to play it and I think he just bobbled it and it kind of went right to me," Thompson said. "I had a lot of speed and tried to tuck it in."
Dustin Tokarski made 24 saves for the Sabres (21-33-8), who have won three of four and the second of back-to-back games after a 6-1 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
"We weren't ourselves last night," Tokarski said. "Little too casual, not enough intensity in our battles, I think, maybe gave them a little too much respect. The focus coming into tonight was it doesn't matter who we play, we've got to play the game the same way and play the game of hockey. When you cheat the game, teams make you pay. That's what happened in Edmonton. Tonight we came in with the mindset to play hard and good things will follow."

Markstrom made 33 saves for the Flames (37-16-8), who lost on home ice for just the third time in 18 games (15-1-2).
"Games are always tougher in March and April, getting ready for playoffs and stuff," Calgary forward Trevor Lewis said. "So it's a tight game and we got to make sure we learn how to win those tight games."
Markstrom made a right pad save on Mattias Samuelsson on a cross-ice setup from Zemgus Girgensons at 10:49 of the second period, and Tokarski made a diving glove save on Calle Jarnkrok at 12:18.
"That was ridiculous," Thompson said. "I honestly just saw the tail end of it. I saw the dive across. At first I thought they scored, and didn't hear anything, so I had to check the replay. That was incredible. I'm not surprised though. He makes stops like that on everyone at practice. We know he's capable of those big saves and he pulled out a few tonight."
Markstrom also made a pad save on Dylan Cozens' partial breakaway at 15:33.
"It wasn't good enough for us, but 'Marky' was our best player, and an unfortunate break at the end there," Flames forward Mikael Backlund said. "I mean, 'Marky' played really well for us tonight. Kept us in the game multiple times."
Tokarski made a left pad save on Chris Tanev on a cross-ice feed from Johnny Gaudreau at 11:14 of the third period, and Gaudreau missed the net on a clear-cut breakaway at 16:15.
"It's easy to score in October and November," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "You've got to get into where the mud is a little more. That's individuals, get in there and work and dig."

The shutout is Tokarski's second in the NHL and first since March 16, 2014 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
"It's a heck of a league," Tokarski said. "Obviously the guy at the other end knows how to get them. I'll try to get a few more in the future. But like I said, it just came down to the team effort tonight. The goose egg kind of goes to the team with how they played tonight."
NOTES:The win was Buffalo's first in overtime since a 4-3 victory at the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 28. ... Cozens played his 100th NHL game. ... Jarnkrok had one shot and three hits in 12:37 in his Flames debut after being acquired in a trade from the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. … Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson played a game-high 25:58. … Markstrom is one shutout from tying the Flames single-season record of 10 set by Miikka Kiprusoff in 2005-06. ... Calgary has outscored opponents 77-31 in its past 18 on home ice. … The Flames play at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.