Fresh off an Olympic gold medal with Team USA, Tage Thompson celebrated his return to Buffalo by scoring a goal and helping the Sabres defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Owen Power and Jason Zucker also found the net for Buffalo, which extended its winning streak to four games. The Sabres have surged recently, going 25-5-2 over their last 32 contests. Their 35 victories through 61 games mark the franchise’s best pace since the 2006-07 season.
Goaltender Alex Lyon stopped 29 shots to earn the win and improve to 13-2 in his last 15 starts.
Vegas answered with goals from Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev — the latter scoring his team-leading 29th of the season — but the Golden Knights dropped their third straight regulation game. They have now gone 4-8-2 over their last 14 outings. Akira Schmid made 25 saves in net for Vegas.
Buffalo built a 3-0 lead early in the second period when Thompson scored his team-best 33rd goal. Taking a no-look pass from Alex Tuch, he fired a shot from the right circle past Schmid on the far side.
The Golden Knights fought back quickly, with Barbashev and Dorofeyev scoring just 1:37 apart to trim the deficit to 3-2 midway through the second period, but they couldn’t complete the comeback.
Before the game, Thompson was recognized during a ceremony honoring the U.S. Olympic team. The Sabres star received a loud ovation as he participated in a ceremonial opening faceoff with fellow Olympian Jack Eichel, now with Vegas but previously a star in Buffalo.
Vegas was without captain Mark Stone, who suffered an undisclosed injury during a 5-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said Stone remained with the team for treatment and is considered day-to-day.
Up Next
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Golden Knights: Finish their five-game road trip in Detroit on Wednesday.
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Sabres: Visit Pittsburgh on Thursday.
