Thompson scores twice, Sabres hand Senators 5th straight loss

BUFFALO -- Tage Thompson had two goals for the Buffalo Sabres, who extended the Ottawa Senators’ losing streak to five games with a 5-3 win at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

“I think he was on a mission to play better than he played the other night (5-2 loss Tuesday to the Seattle Kraken),” Buffalo coach Don Granato said of Thompson. “I’ve talked with him a couple times 1-on-1 in the last couple days, and that’s what I got out of it. He wanted to play much better than he did the other night. And he did with urgency, and obviously he’s a dangerous guy when he’s playing with that type of urgency.”

Rasmus Dahlin had two assists, Dylan Cozens had a goal and an assist, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the Sabres (18-20-4), who have won four of their past six games.

“We want the wins,” Buffalo forward Peyton Krebs said. “We know the taste of what it feels like to lose and it’s not fun. As a group, collectively, we came into the third period and said, ‘We need to lock in right now,’ and we did that. Obviously let in a couple goals there, but we didn’t get flustered and we made it happen.”

Claude Giroux scored twice for the Senators (14-23-0). Anton Forsberg allowed one goal on seven shots before leaving at 11:56 of the first period with a right groin injury. Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves in relief.

“We’ll get a little more news tomorrow,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said of Forsberg. “I think he’ll get an MRI tomorrow and we’ll find out more on his condition.”

JJ Peterka gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 9:14 of the first period. Cozens skated the puck around defenseman Erik Brannstrom in the right circle and sent a pass through the slot to Peterka, who scored from below the left circle. It was Peterka’s first goal since Dec. 11, ending a 12-game drought.

“Obviously he’s been on a little bit of a stretch here without a goal, and I’ve kind of struggled offensively too,” Cozens said. “So, to get that one early, it was a big for our line’s confidence moving forward. And I think we’ve had lots of chances as of late, but we haven’t put one in the back of the net, so to get one there felt good for us.”

Vladimir Tarasenko tied it 1-1 at 15:06, picking up Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt's clearing attempt and beating a screened Luukkonen with a wrist shot from the point.

Thompson put Buffalo ahead 2-1 at 17:28, skating end-to-end and beating Korpisalo with a wrist shot from the slot.

Thompson made it 3-1 just 2:04 later with a wrist shot from the left circle on the power play at 19:32.

“You can see when he has that confidence, he’s just making guys look silly out there and he’s shooting the puck with authority,” Cozens said of Thompson. “Those two goals were pretty hard shots. So, that’s the Tage we all know and love, and hopefully we see a lot more of that the second half of the year.”

Krebs extended the lead to 4-1 at 4:52 of the second period when he finished off a give-and-go with Eric Robinson on a 2-on-1 rush.

Giroux cut it to 4-2 just 43 seconds into the third period on a backhand in front.

Giroux pulled the Senators within 4-3 at 11:15 with a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a turnover by Cozens.

“Yeah, we turned it on in the third, but we have to do it the whole game,” Giroux said. “It [stinks] right now. I don’t know if it’s confidence, or ... I don’t think it’s lack of effort. But yeah, at the end of the day, we’ve just got to be better.”

Cozens scored an empty-net goal at 19:57 for the 5-3 final.

“I thought that we made some mistakes that cost us goals, but I liked the way we rallied in the third period,” Martin said. “I think there was a good confidence for the guys. We play the right way and we keep pressuring on the defense, you’re going to get some turnovers and some scoring opportunities from it. And we probably had some chances to tie it, but I think we’re going to keep learning.”

NOTES: Tarasenko’s goal was his 600th NHL point. … Thompson stayed on the bench but did not return to the ice after he ended a 40-second shift at 13:39 of the third period. Granato said he thinks he’ll “be OK, but we’ll find out more” Friday. … Dahlin recorded his 38th career multiassist game and moved within one of Doug Bodger for second-most by a defenseman in Sabres history behind Phil Housley (77). … Peterka’s goal was his 13th of the season, setting an NHL career high; he had 12 goals in 77 games as a rookie last season. … The Sabres played without forward Jeff Skinner, who is week to week with an upper-body injury.