Columbus, Ohio (Audacy Sports/WGR 550) - Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson has been on a scoring spree of late, a trend that continued Wednesday night with five goals, including four within an 11-minute span against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Sabres phenom went scorched earth on the Blue Jackets, tallying six points (he assisted on the game's first goal by Dylan Cozens on the power play) with five points coming in the first period.
Per ESPN Stats and Info, that accomplishment is a first in franchise history, with Thompson becoming the first Sabres player since Alexander Mogilny in 1993 (four years before Thompson arrived on this Earth) to record a hat-trick in one period.
Thompson also becomes just the second Sabres skater to ever record five goals in a single game, joining Hall-of-Famer Dave Andreychuk when he scored five goals in a game in 1986.
Buffalo went to the locker room leading 6-0 after 20 minutes, matching a feat last achieved by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1998.
A 6-foot-7 forward who played collegiately at the University of Connecticut before becoming draft eligible in 2016 (where he was selected 26th overall by the St. Louis Blues), Thompson has quickly emerged as one of hockey’s brightest stars, entering Wednesday tied for sixth in goals (16), sixth in power play goals (7) and eighth in points (34).
The 25-year-old Phoenix native is well on his way to surpassing his goal total from a season ago (38), scoring in three-straight games and four of his last five. Wednesday represented his third-career hat-trick, and second of the season following a similar outburst on Halloween, peppering the Detroit Red Wings with three goals and three assists.
Thompson joins exclusive company as one of just 47 players with a five-goal game on his NHL resume, with the most recent occurrence coming in January when San Jose Sharks winger Timo Meier hung a five-spot on the Los Angeles Kings in a 6-2 victory.
Despite an underwhelming 12-13-1 record (ahead of only the Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division), the Sabres boast one of the league’s most prolific offenses, leading the NHL in goals per-game (4.0).
Columbus, meanwhile, has been among the easiest teams to score on, surrendering 4.12 goals per-game, second-worst to only the Anaheim Ducks at 4.15.
The Sabres would go on to win 9-4, matching their largest margin of victory this season.
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