Storylines
1. Winging it
Normally a center, Sabres forward Tage Thompson has taken just three total faceoffs in the last four games.
Dec. 31 at Dallas, first-line wingers Jason Zucker and Alex Tuch filled in for Thompson at the dot. And in the last three games, Dylan Cozens has elevated to first-line center and gone 36-for-52 (69%) on draws.
For Thompson, the shift to wing is the result of a lingering (and undisclosed) injury.
“He has been dealing with something,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. “It’s the reason he hasn’t been in the middle. He’s getting better, and he’s still playing, so give him a lot of credit for that.”
Monday versus Washington, Thompson skated a season-high 23:48 and, in the second period, gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead with a 103.7 mph one timer – the hardest-shot goal in the NHL this season.
He’s tallied four, five and six shots on goal these three games as a winger after averaging 1.5 shots per game in his previous 13.
“I feel like I’ve been pretty good,” Thompson said. “Been generating a lot of chances. I’d like to bear down and find a way to put those in the net, but creating a lot of offense. I like the way I’m moving my feet with the puck and creating, getting some good looks, so just got to find ways to capitalize on them.”
Last month, Ruff suggested that Thompson might benefit from some time at wing, a position with fewer defensive responsibilities than center. This latest move may have been out of necessity, considering the injury, but either way, it has reignited the shot-first approach from Buffalo’s most lethal scorer.
2. In decent standing
A winless month sunk the Sabres to last place in the Eastern Conference, but it didn’t bury them; entering Thursday, Buffalo sits seven points out of a wild card spot.
“We’re fortunate that, the way everything has unfolded, we’re within striking distance with [41] games left,” Ruff said postgame Monday.
Although it’s been a bumpy ride for Buffalo since the season opened Oct. 4 in Prague, first-half challenges may have equipped the young Sabres roster for more consistency going forward.
“We’ve got some players that are growing, that understand now that (there’s) no easy game and there’s no easy play,” Ruff said.
“It’s a long season, a lot can happen, so I think you can never count yourself out,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to find ourselves in a hot streak. Just each day, come to the rink, try to get better.
Of course, a climb back in the standings isn’t purely in the Sabres’ hands, as several teams, including Ottawa, stand between Buffalo and a playoff spot.
3. Scouting the Senators
A rollercoaster of a season has the Senators (19-7-3), meanwhile, just one point out of the playoff structure. After a five-game winless streak in mid-November, they went 10-2-1 from Nov. 25 to Dec. 21. But they’ve since gone 1-4-1, scoring an NHL-worst 1.67 goals per game during that span.
Ottawa’s latest slide has coincided with the loss of Ullmark, who won seven straight starts before exiting with a back injury Dec. 22. The 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner remains week-to-week, leaving Anton Forsberg (.888 save percentage, 3.03 goals-against average) and Leevi Merilainen (.884, 3.10) as the Senators’ current options in net.
Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa with 41 points (12+29) and Brady Tkachuk leads with 18 goals.
The Sabres beat Ottawa 5-1 in their first matchup Nov. 5 at KeyBank Center, with JJ Peterka and Bowen Byram each scoring a pair of goals.
