“I think obviously getting the win is always a good feeling, especially 8-3,” Thompson said. “I thought we played a really good game the whole way, but obviously it’s a nice feeling when you score, get on the scoresheet. It’s nice.” Video: [email protected]: Thompson has hat trick and 3 assists Jeff Skinner had a goal and two assists, Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist and Kyle Okposo had two assists for the Sabers (6-3-0), who have won five of their last seven games. Eric Comrie made 15 saves for his first win in three starts. Olli Maatta, David Perron and Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings (4-3-2), who have lost three of four. Alex Nedeljkovic made 38 saves. “We didn’t show up and they showed up,” Larkin said. “No matter what level of hockey you play, not showing up is going to be embarrassing. We’ve got to find it, ‘that’ means his pride. You go into the games, a game with a goal in there the third [period], two goal game, like, come on, let’s win battles, let’s make it a tie game. We just lost too many battles tonight.” Thompson gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 16:52 of the first period, one-timeing a cross-ice pass from Skinner in the left circle. Maatta tied it 1-1 at 1:26 of the second period when Andrew Copp sent a backhand pass behind the net to the defenseman at the top of the left circle. Jack Quinn put the Sabers back up 2-1 at 5:22 with a one-timer from the right circle for his first goal of the season. Skinner extended the lead to 3-1 at 14:26 when Thompson found him alone in front for his 300th NHL goal. “It’s cool, I guess,” Skinner said of the milestone. “It means I’ve been around long enough, I guess. But I think for me, you’re not going to score goals unless you’ve got five guys on the same page out there. Obviously, it means you’ve had some good chemistry with guys over the years. I’ve probably had two open nets, some good passes from some teammates, probably.” Video: [email protected]: Skinner buries a shot all alone for 300th Thompson made it 4-1 at 18:30, scoring from the post on a power play. He had nine shots on goal Monday and has 25 in the last three games “I think the confidence was there from the beginning of the season. I think maybe the first three games I wasn’t getting enough shots, maybe I was a little too cute,” Thompson said. “I just tried to keep it simple and put pucks on 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 creates a rebound and we get possession from it.” . Perron cut it to 4-2 with 57 seconds left in the period and Larkin made it 4-3 at 4:19 of the third when his effort went off the skate of Buffalo defenseman Owen Power back to him down low part of the right circle. for the short goal. Dahlin restored the two-goal lead to 5-3 at 12:53 on a power play. “They get one [power play] there, it kills momentum,” Larkin said. “Bolts in our net and then the embarrassment started.” Dylan Cozens scored from the right circle to make it 6-3 at 14:47. Video: [email protected]: Cozens shoots spectacularly into the net Thompson completed the hat trick at 15:58 with a drive into the slot to make it 7-3. “It’s fun to watch ‘Tommer’, to have history with him, to watch him when he was 16 years old, to see him go to this point in his career,” Sabers coach Don Granato said. “The thing that stands out is the excitement of the bench and the players around him. It really tells you who he is. … To see him and to see a kid that took so long to blossom and be recognized for his talent. That’s who he is, to him to see him struggle with that and now starting to get rewards for that work, it’s definitely gratifying.” Thompson, who scored in each of the final three goals (two goals, one assist) in a 4-3 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, became the second player in Sabers history to have a point in eight straight goals by Pat LaFontaine; in 1992-93. “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 as him is a really nice feeling.” Rasmus Asplund scored with 39 seconds left to make it 8-3. “We hung our keeper out to dry tonight, that is [stinks]”They make it 5-3, OK, 6-3, but you can’t let it go. Just unacceptable.” NOTES: Thompson became the sixth player in Sabers history with six points in a game and the first since LaFontaine on February 10, 1993 (one goal, five assists). His hat trick is the 22nd in NHL history on Halloween and the first since Michael Frolik of the Calgary Flames in 2015. … Okposo has multiple points in consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 9-18, 2018 (three games). … Larkin scored his first goal from close range since Oct. 30, 2018.
