Thompson's 2 goals propel Sabres in win over Senators

Tage Thompson had the attention of two defenders as he carried the puck over the offensive blue line, but he chose to shoot anyway.

Thompson wired a wrist shot from the high slot off the left post and in to break a 1-1 tie in the first period, then added a second goal on the power play less than three minutes later to fuel the Buffalo Sabres in what would end as a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

“He’s just got so much confidence with the puck,” fellow forward Dylan Cozens said when asked afterward about Thompson’s two-goal outburst.

“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. 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.”

Cozens earned the assist on JJ Peterka’s goal to open the scoring, then added an empty-net goal of his own in the game’s final seconds. Peyton Krebs also scored for the Sabres while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves to earn his third straight win.

The Sabres held a 1-0 lead for less than six minutes before Vladimir Tarasenko sent a shot from the point through traffic to even the score. Thompson’s two goals – scored 2:04 apart – swung momentum back in Buffalo’s favor heading into the first intermission.

Both Thompson goals came in the immediate aftermath of a goalie change for Ottawa, with Joonas Korpisalo having entered following an injury to starter Anders Forsberg. But the quality of the shots – one a hard wrister wired off the post, the next a shot from the left circle on the power play that beat Korpisalo across his body – would have made life difficult for any goaltender.

“With his shot, it doesn’t matter what goalie’s in the net,” Krebs said. “Those are going (in).”

Sabres coach Don Granato said Thompson had been disappointed with his performance in Buffalo’s 5-2 loss to Seattle on Tuesday, prior to which he had earned points in four straight games.

“I think he was on a mission to play better than he played the other night,” Granato said. “And, you know, I’ve talked with him a couple times one-on-one 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.”

Here’s more from the win over the Senators.

1. Thompson did not play the final six minutes, but Granato expressed optimism regarding his status postgame.

“Tage, I think, will be OK,” Granato said. “But we’ll find out. We’ll find out more tomorrow.”

The Sabres played Thursday without leading goal scorer Jeff Skinner, who is considered week to week with an upper-body injury.

2. Jordan Greenway led Sabres forwards in ice time at 19:38 – including 5:03 shorthanded to lead a 4-for-4 performance by the penalty kill.

Greenway, who has played on the wing since being acquired by the Sabres last season, played Thursday at center on a line with Zach Benson and Kyle Okposo, allowing Casey Mittelstadt to shift to the wing alongside Thompson and Alex Tuch.

Greenway had three shot attempts, three hits, and a timely blocked shot with the Sabres protecting a one-goal lead during the final minutes.

“There’s potential there,” Granato said regarding the move to center. “Obviously, a big guy. He’s very comfortable with it, he’s played it before and with Skinner out, Mittelstadt’s very effective along walls and on the wing. So, figured it’s an opportunity for us to try it. And I liked what I saw.”

3. Cozens slipped the puck through the legs of Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom and slipped a pass across the net to set up Peterka’s goal, which opened the scoring 9:14 into the contest.

The goal was Peterka’s 13th in 42 games this season, eclipsing the mark he set in 77 games as a rookie.

4. Thompson’s goals extended the Sabres’ lead to 3-1 prior to the end of the first period, but it was Krebs’ goal in the second period that stood as the winner.

Krebs passed to linemate Eric Robinson on a 2-on-1 rush and then buried a return feed, providing insurance that would prove crucial after Claude Giroux scored twice for Ottawa during the third period. Still, Krebs liked the Sabres' attitude as the Senators made their push.

“As a group, collectively, we came into the third period and said, ‘We need to lock in right now,’ and we did that,” he said. “Obviously let in a couple goals there, but we didn’t get flustered and we made it happen.”

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The homestand continues Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Vancouver Canucks. Tickets are available here. 

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