Tuesday night in Newark, New Jersey will be a special night for Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson and his family.
For the first time in his National Hockey League career, the 23-year-old is set to face his younger brother, Tyce Thompson, when the Sabres face the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. What makes this special occasion even more meaningful is it will be Tyce's first NHL game after signing his entry-level contract with New Jersey on March 24.
"It's awesome. Obviously I'm very excited for him. It's something that he's worked very hard for," said Tage following Tuesday's morning skate. "I remember my first game and the excitement. So I'm excited to get to share this opportunity and this moment with him.
"From a very young age, it's something we both really wanted to do was play in the NHL. Now that dream is becoming a reality. For my mom, all the sacrifices and the stuff she's had to do growing up for her to be able to see us on the same ice now playing against each other has got to be pretty rewarding for her, as well."
Tyce completed his junior season at Providence College back on March 17, and ended up signing his first NHL contract a week later when the Friars failed to make the NCAA tournament. In his third season in Rhode Island, the 21-year-old went on to score 11 goals and amass 14 assists for 25 points in 25 games.
In his three seasons with Providence, Tyce went on to score 38 goals and register 56 assists for 94 points in 101 games.
After going undrafted in the 2018 NHL Draft, Tyce would find himself as a fourth round selection (96th overall) of the Devils in the next year's draft after his freshman campaign with the Friars. Meanwhile, his older brother was a former first round pick of the St. Louis Blues (26th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft.
"It is really exciting," said Sabres interim head coach Don Granato following Tuesday's morning skate. "I got to see both Tage and Tyce at a very young age. When I first saw both of them play, it was really easy for me to see the potential was there. To actually be a part of it knowing the family, having coached Tage at the amateur level, this is pretty neat to be a part of."
When you look at the tale of the tape for both players, there is a stark contrast between the two brothers. Tage comes in at a whopping 6-foot-7 and 218 pounds, while Tyce stands at just 6-foot-1 and 178 pounds. Meanwhile, their father Brent, who played parts of six seasons in the NHL, stood in at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds during his playing days, and was more known to be a defenseman who was not afraid to play rough around the edges.
Despite the significant size difference between the two players, Tage says that no one should let their guard down when facing his younger brother.
"The thing you'll notice the most is his work ethic," the Sabres winger said. "He's an extremely hard worker. He's very fast, very intense, and he's got really good poise with the puck and makes really good plays. He's obviously had a lot of success in college scoring, so he's a good complete, 200-foot player. He's someone the Devils should be happy to have."
When speaking with the Devils media on Tuesday, Tyce said that he was speechless when he got the news from head coach Lindy Ruff that he would make his NHL debut against the Sabres and his older brother. Tyce also said that his mother will be in attendance on Tuesday to see her sons play, while his dad will attempt to make it, but isn't sure if he'll be at the game.
Brent Thompson currently serves as the head coach of the New York Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he has served in that role for the past seven seasons.
Meanwhile, the Sabres will be without forward Taylor Hall on Tuesday, as the team has made the decision to sit the veteran just six days ahead of the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.
The decision to sit Hall now will ensure that Hall is a protected asset for an impending trade ahead of Monday's trade deadline at 3 p.m. ET. The 29-year-old is, arguably, one of the top targets for teams to add for a stretch run this season, given that Buffalo is all but out of any playoff race going forward.
Hall's tenure with the Sabres was certainly a short-lived one, and a disappointing one, at best. In 37 games this season with Buffalo, Hall has scored just two goals, while adding 17 assists for 19 points. He managed to score a goal in the team's first game of the season against the Washington Capitals, but then went 19 games without scoring his next goal.
The former first overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL Draft is currently riding another scoreless drought of 16 games, and has only managed to produce six assists in that span.
When asked about the impending situation surrounding the veteran winger, Thompson was very fond of his time spent playing with a player of Hall's caliber.
"I loved playing with him," Thompson said. "Obviously he's an amazing player. Not even talking to him, just watching him practice and the way he plays is fun to watch. He's obviously very fast, so when you play with him in practice, he pushes you to keep up with him. I think that makes guys around him better players."
With Hall coming out of the lineup on Tuesday, that likely sets the stage for Arttu Ruotsalainen to make his NHL debut.
The 23-year-old was called up from the Rochester Americans on Monday and added to the team's taxi squad.
So far in 13 games played this season with the Amerks, Ruotsalainen has performed well with five goals and eight assists for 13 points. Before the start of the 2020-21 season in Rochester, Ruotsalainan spent time playing back home in Finland with Ilves-Tampere, where he led the Finnish Liiga with 16 goals and 27 points through the first 19 games.
The native of Oulu, Finland has played well in his first season in North America, where he has transitioned well playing in a top-six role with the Amerks. Ruotsalainen is not the biggest of players at just 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, but he is a well-built player who's strong on the puck and possesses good foot speed.
The Sabres have taken a similar development path with Ruotsalainen in North America, as they did with Victor Olofsson when he first made the jump from Sweden in the 2018-19 season. Just like Olofsson, Ruotsalainen will now get a good late-season look as the team begins to look ahead towards the 2021-22 season.
Ruotsalainen skated on a line with Olofsson and Sam Reinhart on Monday, but it is uncertain, at this point, where he will slot in to the lineup.
Granato also confirmed on Monday that Okposo will play on Tuesday after sitting out of Monday's practice due to a maintenance day. Granato says that Okposo was never not healthy enough to play, but he just wanted to give the veteran winger plenty of rest time with the situation he is going through.
Linus Ullmark has played exceptionally well since his return to the Buffalo net from a lower-body injury. The 27-year-old netminder has made four starts since his return from injury, where he has gone 2-1-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
Overall this season, Ullmark has posted a 7-5-3 record in 16 games played with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. His save percentage currently ranks 12th in the NHL among all goalies who have started at least 10 games this season.
As for the Devils, they are sitting out another one of their top trade assets until a move can be agreed upon with another team.
It was announced on Sunday by his agency that forward Kyle Palmieri would be held out of the New Jersey lineup in anticipation of an upcoming trade in the coming days.
The 30-year-old has scored eight goals and put up nine assists in 34 games with the Devils this season, as the long-time Devils winger now waits to find a new home ahead of the trade deadline on Monday. Teams like the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins have reportedly been the top teams in contention to land Palmieri in a deal.
Another notable player not playing for the Devils is captain Nico Hischier, who has missed all but five games this season due to a number of injuries. The 22-year-old has not played since Feb. 27 against the Washington Capitals after taking a shot to the visor, which required him to undergo surgery for a sinus fracture.
The good news for the Devils, though, is Hischier was scheduled to visit doctors on Tuesday, which could be good news towards a possible return to the lineup at some point in the very near future.
New Jersey's leading scorer this season has been Pavel Zacha, who sits one point ahead of forward Jesper Bratt and defenseman Ty Smith with 20 points (7+13) in 35 games played. In his six games against the Sabres this season, Zacha has seven points, with his only goal against Buffalo coming in overtime back on Feb. 25 at KeyBank Center.
Meanwhile, Miles Wood has had a breakout 2020-21 campaign with a team-high 11 goals in 36 games. The Buffalo native has dominated the Sabres this season with four goals and one assist registered in six games played.
It will be Scott Wedgewood in goal for the Devils on Tuesday. The former Amerks goalie has posted a 3-5-3 record in 11 games played this season with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Two of his three wins this season have come as shutouts.
In his one start against the Sabres this season on Jan. 30 in Buffalo, Wedgewood stopped 28 of 31 shots faced, but suffered a 4-3 shootout loss.
Tune in for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET with the Bulldog, where you will hear from Granato, Thompson and Ullmark. Faceoff in Newark is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
In addition, tune in for the first period intermission report with Brian Koziol, where you will hear from Ruotsalainen.
