Thompson scores twice for Sabres in shootout win against Penguins

BUFFALO -- Tage Thompson scored twice for the Buffalo Sabres and got the deciding goal in the shootout in a 4-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.

"We were definitely deserving of a win there," Thompson said. "I think, obviously, the results, they usually take care of themselves. Sometimes you're not going to get the results at the end of the game, but regardless of that, I think we can all look each other in the eyes and say that we gave it our all. I think we deserved it and we came out on top, so it was good."
Craig Anderson made 23 saves for the Sabres (23-33-8), who have won three in a row for the first time since opening the season 3-0-0 Oct. 14-19.
"We're playing much better than we were earlier in the year," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "But absolutely, the psyche component didn't affect us like it would've a couple months ago, and we went right back to execution. Our execution's been really good. There was a little bit of a period, a sequence in the second period where I thought we lost a little, there was a little swing in momentum, but it was only a couple shifts and we got right back to our game. …
"We talked about that this morning, the ability for us to play our game and dictate the pace and sort of make them play our game. They were as you would expect. They were very, very efficient and good on the power play [2-for-2] and we weren't quite as good on the penalty kill."

Kris Letang tied it 3-3 for the Penguins on the power play at 15:04 of the third period from the right circle.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist, Bryan Rust had two assists, and Casey DeSmith made 30 saves for the Penguins (39-16-10), who had won five of six, including 5-1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
"We battled hard in the third to get that point," Letang said. "I think it was important to get it, especially with the race that we're in right now for home ice, and at the top [of the Metropolitan Division] it's pretty tight. It wasn't our best, that's for sure."
Thompson gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 17:15 of the first period. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, behind the net, sent a pass to Thompson in the right circle for a shot into the top corner.
Crosby tied it 1-1 on the power play 26 seconds into the second period on the rush from the slot off a feed from Rust.

Zemgus Girgensons put Buffalo back in front 2-1 at 15:56, taking a pass from Kyle Okposo inside the right circle.
Malkin tied it 2-2 at 18:46 when his shot from below the goal line hit Anderson's stick and then the leg of Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju before rolling between Anderson's legs into the net.
"They played a good up-tempo game and made it tough for us to get any sustained offense against them," Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson said. "I think that was it really, we didn't really generate a lot of time in their zone. Seemed like we were in our zone a lot throughout the game. That's never an easy way to win games."
Thompson put Buffalo ahead 3-2 at 1:01 of the third period. Alex Tuch circled behind the net and sent a pass through the low slot to Thompson in the right circle.
"Obviously they're a good team, but as soon as you back off and give them time and space they're going to make plays," Thompson said. "I think after that Edmonton [Oilers] game [a 6-1 loss Thursday], I think we kind of went into that game a little bit too, maybe, starstruck, gave their good players too much time to make plays. I think after that we've kind of had a focus on it doesn't matter what team we're playing. We're going to go after them, be aggressive and hunt down pucks. I think tonight we took time and space away from their good players and they weren't able to create much out there."
NOTES:Crosby has scored 1,391 points to tie Brett Hull for 24th in NHL history. He has scored 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists) in 53 career games against the Sabres, his highest total against a non-Metropolitan Division opponent. He has scored more points against Buffalo than any other active skater. … Matheson played his 400th NHL game. … The Sabres earned at least a point for a third straight game against the Penguins for the first time since going 3-0-2 from Nov. 28, 2008 to Dec. 29, 2009. … Thompson had his sixth multigoal game this season and has scored five goals in his past four games. … Anderson was presented with an engraved gold stick and a jersey with his name and '300' on it prior to the game in honor of his 300th NHL win March 10. … Malkin's goal was the 14,000th in Penguins history.