Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres are coming off a tough, emotional win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday that put them in first place in the Atlantic Division, when looking at points.
Now they must come back down to Earth on Tuesday when they host the San Jose Sharks, who are in the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference with a points percentage of .541. They are right behind the Edmonton Oilers for third in the Pacific Division, who have a points percentage of .547.
Tage Thompson has been talking for two years about learning how to handle losses and wins.
"That game was huge [Sunday]," said Thompson following Tuesday's morning skate. "There was a lot riding on the line there, we knew the stakes. I think both teams did, and you see the intensity. But we’ve got to be even keeled, and it’s something we’ve gotten really good at. When we were losing games, not getting too low, just trying to focus on the next objective, the next game. And that goes not only for losses, but wins as well. And coming off an emotional game like Sunday, riding a high, you’ve got to make sure you don’t let the emotions get the better of you."
Rasmus Dahlin is Buffalo’s best player, and he was targeted by the Lightning, just like most teams do. Thompson is sixth in the NHL with 34 goals, and he has to put up with a lot of that too. But as he said, not as much as the captain.
"I think every team comes into our building and makes an emphasis of making it a hard game against 'Dahls'," Thompson acknowledged. "I imagine they probably do the same against me, but it’s the same thing that we do when we play good teams. You want to make it hard on their best players and try to rattle them, and he’s one of the best defensemen in the world. I thought we did an unreal job of sticking together, staying tight, and standing up for one another. But 'Dahls' is a little bit of a rat too. so I’m sure it doesn’t come unwarranted. But I just loved the response that we had all night."
When Thompson said Dahlin is a little bit of a rat, he had a big, wry grin on his face.
Since Dec. 8, Thompson has points in 31-of-36 games, scoring 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points. That's fifth in the league during that time period, while his 22 goals are second.
Since Jan. 12, Dahlin is sixth in league scoring with nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points. That’s in only 21 games. It’s also only two points behind the two players in second place with 30 points.
Alex Lyon will be in goal for the Sabres on Tuesday against San Jose. He’s 17-8-3 this season with a goals-against average of 2.64 and a save percentage of .915.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in net against Tampa Bay and got the win. He did let in seven goals, but head coach Lindy Ruff says there was good reasons to keep him in.
"There were four or five goals where there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. So let's not say it’s about the seven goals," Ruff said following Tuesday's morning skate. "If you want to pick apart one or two of their goals that maybe he could’ve made a big save on, I’m OK with that. But there were plays that had nothing to do with him, that he wasn’t going to make a save on.
"If you noticed when [Brandon] Hagel was on [Dahlin], he was the first guy getting to the pileup. He was right in there, and I love that part of it. Pucks weren’t going through him, and I wanted him to stay in the fight and be part of it, and make the one or two saves we’re going to need to get back in the game and to win the game."
Buffalo is 7-0-0 since coming back from Olympic break, outscoring its opponents, 30-17. In the seven games, the Sabres are 7-for-27 on the power play (25.9%), and they’ve killed 17-of-20 penalties (85%).
If the Sabres win on Tuesday, it’ll be the first time ever they’ll have multiple winning streaks of eight-or-more games in a single season.
The Sharks have had their problems lately, winning just 2-of-10 games.
However, San Jose shows up with superstar center Macklin Celebrini. The 19-year-old is fifth in league scoring with 32 goals and 57 assists for 89 points in 61 games.
Will Smith is only 20-years-old and has 19 goals and 25 assists for 44 points in 48 games played.
Yaroslav Askarov will get the call in net on Tuesday. He’s 19-16-3 this season with a 3.52 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage.
The 23-year-old was the 11th overall pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL Draft. He was traded to the Sharks in August of 2024.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson.
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