'That's a sign' | Thompson, Sabres reflect on emotional win in D.C.

Tage Thompson walked into the visiting dressing room inside Capital One Arena and quickly learned about the numerical significance of what he had just done - scoring his third goal of the game, and his 30th of the season, exactly three minutes into overtime against the Washington Capitals.
The Sabres had walked into the arena that night wearing T-shirts that read "Love For 3," the jersey number of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
"I'm a big believer in God and I think that's a sign," Thompson said. "I don't know if you can make up something quite like that. I think prayer is a powerful thing, and that's really all you can do in this situation. That's what we're going to continue to do."

While Thompson spoke to reporters inside the Sabres dressing room Thursday, the latest update regarding Hamlin's status was posted nearby on the large screen typically used for game planning:

Two health physicians from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where Hamlin is being treated, held a press conference later in the afternoon during which they elaborated on his progress. Hamlin opened his eyes, squeezed the hands of loved ones, and - through pen and paper - asked who won the Bills' game against the Cincinnati Bengals, evidence that he remained neurologically intact.
"I think we see he's making some good strides right now so just continue to pray and hope for the best," Thompson said.
Many of the Sabres players were watching Monday night when Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest early during the Bills' game against Cincinnati. Teammates texted one another as the seriousness of the situation became clearer.
The next morning, Sabres captain Kyle Okposo met with coach Don Granato and general manager Kevyn Adams to discuss how they would proceed. They decided to hold a full-team, open-floor meeting to share the various feelings that may have risen - concern for their fellow athlete and the potential anxiety of stepping onto the ice that same night to play a contact sport among them.
"We have a team that is willing to talk about all those things, and we were able to do that together as a group and make sure that everyone was doing OK," Okposo said. "Obviously, everybody was extremely moved and shaken up by what happened, but we tried to handle it and address it as best we could and move on and try to find a way to play a hockey game, which we were able to emotionally do."
Granato echoed Okposo's account of the meeting, a testament to the open dialogue the Sabres have strived to create over the past two seasons.
"They were not afraid to talk, which is really good," Granato said. "And there's no solutions, there's no answers, it's just talk. And then we talked about, OK, how (do) we move into this afternoon and tonight and come up with a plan collectively?"
The Sabres settled on a pregame show of solidarity with Hamlin and the Bills through their "Love For 3" T-shirts, an idea brought to life by members of the communication staff in collaboration with Okposo. They also felt a sense of obligation to do right by Western New York.

"I think that collectively we were able to think about that and think about all the people that draw positive emotions from watching us play and just try to give people a semblance of normalcy in an extremely scary time for everybody," Okposo said.
"Obviously, everybody's thinking about him and has it on their mind but hopefully to try to give people a bit of a reprieve in watching us play was something that we tried to do."
It was similar to how the Sabres felt taking the ice against Detroit on December 29, their first game after the tragic blizzard that took more than 40 lives in Western New York. The Sabres won that game in front of a sellout crowd, fueled in part by a hat trick from Okposo.
"It truly is a special place and the city of good neighbors, and they want to help and try to heal together," Okposo said. "It's been an honor for me to be a public member in this community and try to lift people's spirits every day by the way that we play and the way that we interact as a team and the way that we care about this community."

It was Thompson who scored the hat trick in Washington, the culmination of a game that saw the Sabres fall behind after carrying a one-goal lead into the third period. Tyson Jost scored to tie the game with 8:18 remaining, setting the stage for Thompson's overtime goal.
"I think we have a lot of guys that truly do love the City of Buffalo and want to see it flourish and do well," Thompson said. "I think for us, from our standpoint, all we can do is continue to work hard and try to turn this team around and try and win some games, get into playoffs and bring some life to the city.
"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."