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Tage Thompson was an absolute ice demon during the regular season for the surprising Buffalo Sabres.
Across an ironman 81 in 82 appearances, the 28-year-old, nine-year veteran did it all. Thompson had a 40-goal, 81-point season while leading the Sabres' top line as a tenacious, skillful presence. It was the 2026 men's Olympic gold medalist's third campaign in which he scored at least 40 goals and his second with at least 80 points. The Sabres' turnaround into a Stanley Cup contender does not happen without his elite consistency. Full stop.
That's why it's so jarring to see Thompson somewhat struggle for the previously hapless Sabres in their first playoff run in 14 years.
At the time of this writing, Thompson has just three goals and eight total points for the Sabres in nine games, including an early goal in Sunday's Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on the road. Technically, that's almost a point-per-game pace, which is great playoff production. But Thompson isn't scoring at his usual rate, having scored just three goals in nine games so far. With the Sabres scoring two or fewer goals in three games, or 33 percent of their postseason run to this point, Thompson's relative struggles as the team's leading scorer are more glaring.
Thompson was asked whether he had an undisclosed injury hampering him during his recent stretch of play. He didn't really engage with the question, and seemingly refused to let an injury be an excuse for poor performance if he was hurt:
I don't agree with Thompson for telling a reporter doing their job that an injury question is out of bounds. I would, in fact, say that Thompson's health as one of the Sabres' star players is the business of a reporter covering them. But that's just me. I'm old-fashioned.
Nonetheless, Thompson's response to a question like that does feel telling. He's not actually hurt; he's just in a cold streak. We need to remember these kinds of dips sometimes happen to players in the playoffs as the intensity and level of play increase. Double that for a player in their postseason debut, getting accustomed to the increased intensity and their nerves, which could apply to Thompson.
Besides, he seemed to find himself with that mentioned early goal in Game 3, borne out of dynamite positioning in front of the net:
Could an injured player do that? Hey, I won't lie: Maybe!
But given the complete context of this situation, while seeing how Thompson continues to press forward with dogged effort, I'd venture to guess he's simply working through a cold streak that can happen to anyone. If there's a silver lining for Buffalo in this situation, it's that players like Thompson seldom stay cold for long.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tage Thompson: What's wrong with Sabres star? How he explained it
Continue reading...
Across an ironman 81 in 82 appearances, the 28-year-old, nine-year veteran did it all. Thompson had a 40-goal, 81-point season while leading the Sabres' top line as a tenacious, skillful presence. It was the 2026 men's Olympic gold medalist's third campaign in which he scored at least 40 goals and his second with at least 80 points. The Sabres' turnaround into a Stanley Cup contender does not happen without his elite consistency. Full stop.
That's why it's so jarring to see Thompson somewhat struggle for the previously hapless Sabres in their first playoff run in 14 years.
At the time of this writing, Thompson has just three goals and eight total points for the Sabres in nine games, including an early goal in Sunday's Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on the road. Technically, that's almost a point-per-game pace, which is great playoff production. But Thompson isn't scoring at his usual rate, having scored just three goals in nine games so far. With the Sabres scoring two or fewer goals in three games, or 33 percent of their postseason run to this point, Thompson's relative struggles as the team's leading scorer are more glaring.
Thompson was asked whether he had an undisclosed injury hampering him during his recent stretch of play. He didn't really engage with the question, and seemingly refused to let an injury be an excuse for poor performance if he was hurt:
I don't agree with Thompson for telling a reporter doing their job that an injury question is out of bounds. I would, in fact, say that Thompson's health as one of the Sabres' star players is the business of a reporter covering them. But that's just me. I'm old-fashioned.
Nonetheless, Thompson's response to a question like that does feel telling. He's not actually hurt; he's just in a cold streak. We need to remember these kinds of dips sometimes happen to players in the playoffs as the intensity and level of play increase. Double that for a player in their postseason debut, getting accustomed to the increased intensity and their nerves, which could apply to Thompson.
Besides, he seemed to find himself with that mentioned early goal in Game 3, borne out of dynamite positioning in front of the net:
Could an injured player do that? Hey, I won't lie: Maybe!
But given the complete context of this situation, while seeing how Thompson continues to press forward with dogged effort, I'd venture to guess he's simply working through a cold streak that can happen to anyone. If there's a silver lining for Buffalo in this situation, it's that players like Thompson seldom stay cold for long.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tage Thompson: What's wrong with Sabres star? How he explained it
Continue reading...
