'Another bar to chase' | Counting down Thompson's top moments of 2022-23

Tage Thompson is always searching for the next goal, even after completing one of the great seasons in Sabres history.
Thompson, after enjoying a breakout 38-goal campaign in 2021-22, took his game to new heights this past season as Buffalo's bonafide top center. His statistical achievements included:
• Career highs in goals (47), assists (47), and points (94).
• The third season in Sabres history with at least 47 goals and 47 assists, joining Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny (both of whom accomplished the feat in 1992-93).
• An NHL-leading four hat tricks.
"It's definitely a good feeling to know that the goals I set out at the beginning of the season for myself individually, that I met and surpassed them is something that's nice," Thompson said. "Now it just gives me another bar to chase for next year and to continue to push and see how much better I can get."
Looking forward is important, but so is looking back. Here are 10 of the best moments from Thompson's unforgettable season.

10. Hesitation in Vegas

Thompson hit the breaks on the inside edge of the right circle, used his long reach to evade a pair of outstretched sticks, and wired a wrist shot for his 26th goal of the season during the Sabres' victory in Vegas on Dec. 20. It was his fourth straight game with a goal.

9. "This is slay"

Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka paid homage to Thompson's signature hat style during their holiday giveaway, a moment that became immortalized in Sabres meme history.

Tage's hats were also a prevailing theme of his episode of "Between 2 Stalls" with Jeff Skinner.

8. 3-point homecoming

Thompson had a goal and two assists to pace the Sabres to a 5-2 victory in his home state of Arizona, where he still spends time during the offseason. His one-timer on the power play broke a tie in the third period and stood as the winner with his mom, Kim, among roughly 20 family members in attendance at Mullett Arena.

7. 3-point homecoming (again)

Thompson again recorded a goal and two assists on Jan. 24 when he returned to St. Louis, the city where he began his NHL career. He stripped the puck free in front of the net to set up Skinner's goal one minute into the game, earned a secondary assist on a goal from Owen Power, and toe-dragged his way to a second-period score of his own that would stand as the winner.

The 5-3 win was Buffalo's first in St. Louis since 2009.

6. Tommy Dangles

It took until the third game of the season for Thompson to score his first goal. It was worth the wait.
Thompson poked the puck from Leon Draisaitl at the defensive blue line, went end-to-end on a give-and-go with Jeff Skinner, then split three defenders as he dragged the puck back and forth across the net.

"Disgusting," Rasmus Dahlin said afterward. "It's so good that he scored that goal now. He's gonna stay hot now for the rest of the season."

5. Hat trick in Tampa

Buffalo's victory in Tampa on Feb. 23 is better remembered for Ilya Lyubushkin's overtime heroics, but it was Thompson who got the Sabres through regulation.
Thompson buried a power-play goal on the rush, then twice beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on breakaways to complete his NHL-best fourth and final hat trick of the season.

4. Fishing for 40

Thompson hit the 40-goal milestone for the first time in his career against Washington on Feb. 26. He pounced on a turnover in the offensive zone and wired a wrister from the high slot.

"He's not even close to his limit, capacity - whatever you want to say - and it's important he strives for more and more and more," Don Granato said afterward. "I'm very happy for him. He got his 40th tonight, obviously, and that's exciting and all right but there's a lot more for him. I think he knows that."

3. Love for 3

Thompson and his teammates wore T-shirts that read "Love for 3" into their game in Washington on Jan. 4. The gesture was a tribute to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who had gone into cardiac arrest during a game against Cincinnati the night prior.
What followed was, in Thompson's words, "a sign" of the good fortune to come for those watching back in Buffalo. Thompson scored his third goal of the night, and 30th of the season, exactly three minutes into overtime. It was his third hat trick of the year.

"Whatever we can do away from the rink to help the community when it's hurting, we're going to do. This is home for me and for obviously everyone in this room. You want to take care of your home and the people around it."
Hamlin has since recovered and recently announced his intentions to continue his football career.

2. 6 points on Halloween

Thompson earned his first hat trick of the season and the 11th six-point performance in Sabres history during an 8-3 win over the Red Wings on Halloween.
The three-goal, three-assist outing put his full package of skills on display - including a toe-drag to the slot, a one-timer from the circle, and quick feeds to set up goals from Skinner and Quinn in front of the net.

"He's a guy who can sort of take over a game and dominate," Skinner said. "He did that tonight."

1. History in Columbus

How do you top a six-point outing? You have another, but this time you score five goals.
Thompson's five-goal, one-assist performance in Columbus on Dec. 7 made history for a multitude of reasons. Here are some of them:
• He scored four goals within the first 16:40, the fastest set of four goals scored by a single player to open a game in NHL history. (The record belongs to Joe Malone, who scored four in 8:40 to open a contest for the Hamilton Bulldogs in 1921.)
• His five points in the first period were the most by a player in any period in Sabres history. He was the fifth player for any NHL team to accomplish the feat over the last 30 years.
• He became the second player in Sabres history to score five goals in a game, joining Dave Andreychuk, who did so on Feb. 6, 1986.
• Thompson finished the year with two six-point games. No other NHL player had one in 2022-23. LaFontaine is the only other player in Sabres history to have two six-point games in a single season.

"The great and the bad part about it is you have a night like this, but tomorrow is a new day," Thompson said that night. "You can't be satisfied. Obviously, it's a great achievement. You want to be happy for yourself. But at the same time, there's more to do. We're not where we want to be as a team and it's my job to help us get there."