BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Sabres dropped their third straight game Monday night with a 7-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The final two Columbus goals were empty-netters in the last minute of play.
With the loss the Sabres drop to 7-9-2 on the season. They're back on the ice Wednesday when they host the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m.
Thompson keeps delivering
We saw a big spark from Tage Thompson in the later parts of last season and that spark is still alive months later. In the 1st period of the game Thompson scored off a pass from Victor Olofsson for his 7th goal of the season, inching closer to his season-high of eight.
Well, that season-high was matched in the 2nd period after Thompson scored his 2nd of the game and 3rd goal in the last two games. Already matching his season-high, Thompson will most likely add a lot more with five months of games left to play.
Hot end to the 1st, brutal start to the 2nd
Just a day after the Sabres lost on a last-second goal to the New York Rangers, the Sabres got the final seconds of a period to go their way. Trailing 2-1 in the 1st period, the Sabres went on the power play and capitalized after Zemgus Girgensons redirected a shot in net with .4 seconds left on the clock to tie things up 2-2 after 20 minutes of play.
However, that hot end to the 1st period turned into a brutal start to the 2nd period with the Blue Jackets scoring two goals in the first :55 of the period. Dustin Tokarski, who started in net, was taken out and replaced with Aaron Dell. Less than three minutes after the goalie change, the Jackets capitalized again for their third goal in less than four minutes.
"No quit"
When an opposing team scores three goals in less than four minutes to take a three-goal lead, it's hard for a fan to not "lose hope". But this Sabres team, wasn't going to let a big deficit stop them from quitting. That three-goal deficit turned into a two-goal deficit after Dylan Cozens scored his fourth goal of the season and then minutes later, that deficit became one goal after Thompson scored his second of the game [see above].
The Sabres couldn't completely erase that deficit, with two empty-netters in the final minute of play, but to see them at least respond the way they did in the 2nd period, is something we didn't see a whole lot of in years past.
