Detroit, Mich. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - I don’t know who saw that coming.
The Detroit Red Wings had a 4-1 lead over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night on home ice until Josh Doan tipped a Rasmus Dahlin shot past goalie John Gibson at the 17:58 mark of the second period.
Then in the third period and overtime, Tage Thompson became the superstar that he is, as he took over the game to help Buffalo to a thrilling 5-4 win.
Early in the third period on a short power play, Thompson got a few Grade-A chances, and then all of a sudden showed off one of his vintage rushes.
Doan started it with a nifty backhand pass through his legs to Thompson to begin the breakout. Thompson then blew around Alex DeBrincat in the left circle, and used his reach to go around Gibson, and the puck was in the net as Simon Edvinsson was too late to help.
While trailing 4-3, Peyton Krebs took a tripping penalty, but that didn't deter the Sabres from tying the game.
Ryan McLeod managed to strip Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider of the puck at the blue line, and he turned on the jets to walk-in clean on Gibson. His second shorthanded goal of the season completed the three-goal comeback.
After the game, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said McLeod wasn’t supposed to be on the ice, as he went out when Jordan Greenway was supposed to go.
The reason most of us didn’t see a three-goal comeback in the cards is because Buffalo hadn’t done it since Nov. 19, 2018 in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.
Before overtime started, the Sabres got a too many men on the ice penalty with 2:33 left in regulation. A goal there likely wins the game for Detroit.
The NHL’s No. 1 penalty kill did the job, and off to overtime we went.
Thompson wasn’t done, as he was doing anything he had to in order to pull off a win.
He came down on DeBrincat, and sent him flying all the way to the back wall inside the Red Wings end. Thompson wanted to shoot but was covered, so instead fed a wide-open Mattias Samuelsson down the slot, and the Sabres had their first road win of the season.
Buffalo is now 1-5-2 on the road this season.
Ruff loved what he saw from one of his best players, who is finally playing like one of the Sabres' best players.
"It was an incredible amount of will," said Ruff following the win. "Look at what he did to the guy (DeBrincat) in overtime, he almost threw him through the end of the rink. It has to be our will, our desperation has to be greater than theirs to get back. We’ve got to do it for each other, and I thought the guys went out and did a hell of a job."
DeBrincat scored two goals in this game, but he killed Detroit on the Thompson and Samuelsson goals. He was also minus-3 on the game.
As for Thompson, he knows what his role has to be on this team. In his last four games, he has three goals and three assists for six points.
Honestly, he still wasn’t playing all that well until the third period in Carolina.
"We’ve been losing a lot of games, and it’s frustrating. No one is going to sit there and feel sorry for us," said Thompson following the win. "We tried to impose our will there, and it’s not just one guy. It’s everybody pulling the rope in the same direction. 'Ellie' [Colten Ellis] makes some huge saves for us to keep it tight and the momentum in our favor, and 'Sammy' [Samuelsson] coming through for us."
Ellis is now 2-1-0 in the NHL, with both wins coming against Detroit. He also picked up his first NHL assist on the Thompson goal.
Rasmus Dahlin made his return to the Sabres lineup after visiting his recovering fiancée in Sweden. Every player I spoke with talked about how inspired they were by him.
Dahlin went right back into the lineup and played 27:05 of ice-time, to go along with two assists.
Now, in my mind, this changes nothing. The Sabres were still 1-3-0 on the road trip, and are six points out of a playoff spot with eight teams to leapfrog.
The next four games are at home against the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. The Sabres had been doing well at home, but have lost three-straight, going 0-1-2.
Overall, Buffalo is 5-3-2 at home this season, and nothing short of going 4-0-0 in this homestand is going to get them back into the playoff race.
Ruff breaks the season down in five-game segments, and told his team to make the playoffs, they must take six out of every 10 points. Buffalo has completed three of the five-game segments, and have only reached their goal once:
2-3-0 = 4 pts
2-1-2 = 6 pts
1-2-2 = 4 pts
1-2-0 = 2 pts (Beating Edmonton and Calgary would get them to six points)
The Sabres have Sunday off before hosting the Oilers on Monday.
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