In Buffalo, Tage Thompson hit for a hat trick on Monday night, and added three assists as the Sabres rattled the Detroit Red Wings, 8-3.
“I think obviously getting the win’s always a good feeling, especially 8-3,” Thompson said. “I thought we played a really good game all the way around, but obviously it’s a nice feeling when you’re scoring, you’re contributing on the score sheet. It’s nice.”
Eric Comrie made 15 saves in the Sabres win.
Dylan Larkin had a goal for Detroit.
“We didn’t show up and they showed up,” Larkin said. “No matter what level of hockey you play, you don’t show up it’s going to be embarrassing. We’ve got to find it; ‘it’ meaning the pride of. You get in the games, one-goal game there in the third [period], two-goal game, like, let’s go, let’s win battles, let’s make it an even game. We just lost way too many battles tonight.”
Thompson started his night giving the Sabres a 1-0 lead in the first.
Olli Maatta tied it 1-1,for Detroit early in the middle frame.
Jack Quin restored the lead for Buffalo at 2-1, and Jeff Skinner made it 3-1.
Thompson hit his second of the night for a 4-1 advantage.
“It’s enjoyable to watch ‘Tommer,’ having history with him, watching him when he was 16 years old, watching him grind his way to this point in his career,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.
“The thing that sticks out is the excitement of the bench and the players around him. It really tells you the person he is. … To see that and see a kid that it took so long for him to flourish and be recognized for the talent that he is, to see him fight through that and now start to get rewards for that work, it’s definitely enjoyable.”
Detroit’s David Perron closed out the second period with a strike to make it 4-2.
“I think the confidence has been there from the start of the season. I think maybe the first three games I wasn’t getting enough shots, maybe being a little too cute,” Thompson said. “I just tried to simplify and get pucks to the net, whether it’s a clear lane to the net or not. Just find ways to get it to the net and then from there if it doesn’t go in, at least it’s creating a rebound and we’re getting possession from it.”
Larkin Scored at 4:19 of the third to make it 4-3 and give Detroit a bit a breath of hope, but the Sabres reeled off four straight.
Rasmus Dahlin scored off the power play for a 5-3 lead to take the wind out of the Detroit sails.
“They get a [power play] there, kills momentum,” Larkin said. “The pucks in our net and then the embarrassment started.”
Dylan Cozens made it 6-3 before Thompson completed his hat trick.
“I didn’t know about that stat, but it’s pretty cool,” Thompson said. “Obviously, he’s one of the best to play the game, so to be mentioned in the same breath is a pretty cool feeling.”
Rasmus Asplund rubbed salt in the wound with a goal just 38 seconds before the final horn.
“We hung our goalie out to dry tonight, which is, that [stinks],” Detroit’s Andrew Copp said. “They make it 5-3, OK, 6-3, but you can’t let it go past that. Just unacceptable.”
Alex Nedeljkovic made 38 saves in the Detroit loss.
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