Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres welcomed the Detroit Red Wings to town on Monday coming off a comeback overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
The Sabres struck first in the opening period on, what would become, a long night of goals. Buffalo controlled most of the period, but weren't able to pull ahead until the final five minutes of the frame.
Tage Thompson scored his fourth of the season to put his team ahead 1-0.
The Red Wings evened things up early on in the second period with a goal from Olli Maata, but from then on it was all Buffalo.
Forwards Jack Quinn and Jeff Skinner each got involved, giving Buffalo a 3-1 lead before Thompson scored his second goal of the night, making it 4-1, Buffalo. Detroit forward David Perron answered at the end of the period to make things interesting through 40 minutes, 4-2.
The Red Wings showed life early on once again when Dylan Larkin scored to cut the Sabres' advantage to 4-3.
However, Buffalo shut the Red Wings down once more, as the team scored four unanswered goals to finish out the game. Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Asplund and Thompson were the four goal scorers, ending the night with an 8-3 Sabres victory.
Buffalo kept themselves composed for an all-around dominating team victory, giving them their second win in-a-row.
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Here are this game's three observations:
1.) Tage Thompson
There are good games, there are great games, and then there is what Thompson did on Monday night.
The Sabres center completely controlled play while he was on the ice, scoring three goals and recording three assists for a six-point outing. He was the main catalyst to this Sabres victory.
The 25-year-old signed a seven-year, $50 million extension in the offseason that kicks in at the start of next year. So far, he seems to be worth every penny.
It had taken him a few games to get going on the year, but it appears he's in full gear now and just getting started.
The prospect of Thompson being locked up long-term and working well within the current scheme of the team is invaluable. If he can continue to work well with the upcoming prospects in the Sabres system, this team could become one of the unstoppable forces in the NHL.
2.) Shooting from every angle
The shooting stats for the Sabres in this game were absolutely insane. Not only did they manage to get 46 shots on net, they also attempted 73 shots. For comparison, Detroit attempted 33 shots and only had 18 shots on net.
Buffalo tripled their opponent's shots on net, and doubled their attempted shots. Along with that, they have now gone three-consecutive games with 45 shots or more in a game for the first time in franchise history.
The team isn't just showing off their shots every once and a while anymore. They appear to now be able to do this on a consistent basis each and every game.
The Sabres become a high danger scoring threat when they are able to put that many shots on net a game.
3.) Dominant team play
There were 14 different Sabres players to record a point in Monday's win over the Red Wings. The last time the team had that many players record points in one game was in 2019 against the New Jersey Devils.
The team was good in every facet of the game, and seemed to have everything going right for them. Of course, the offense was the main story of this game, but defensively the team was stellar, as well.
While this kind of play isn't sustainable for every single game, a game like this every once in a while can boost the confidence of a locker room for weeks at a time.
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The Sabres will wrap up their four-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. ET with Schopp and the Bulldog on the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
