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Hats as Far as the Eye can See

Jan 28, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) reacts after scoring his third goal of the game during the third period against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Score: Sabres 7 | Bruins 2

Shots: BUF 33 | BOS 27

Buffalo Sabres Goals:

  1. Thompson (Cozens, Peterka)
  2. Thompson (McLeod, Samuelsson)
  3. Peterka (Power, Thompson)
  4. Thompson (Dahlin, Byram)
  5. Peterka (Kulich)
  6. Peterka (Unassisted) (EN)
  7. Benson (Quinn, Cozens) (PPG)

Boston Bruins Goals:

  1. Lohrei (Unassisted)
  2. Marchand (Lindholm, Pastrnak) (PPG)

Plus 1: Quick Puck Movement

A few wise men once said their offensive line worked well together because they liked to “pass, shoot, and score.” The quicker the first two actions are completed, the more likely a goal is to occur. Tage Thompson provided two perfect examples of this against the Bruins. His first two goals were a result of quick passes in the offensive zone resulting in tic-tac-toe goals. The first one Cozens set Thompson up for a 102 MPH blast from the high slot after receiving a cross-zone pass from Peterka. His second goal was a back door tap in after McLeod one-touched a pass from Samuelsson across the crease to Tage. Hopefully, this offensive zone movement can continue to pay off.

Plus 2: Two-for-One Hat Trick Sale

The Sabres top line was unstoppable against the Bruins. Thompson and Peterka became the first Sabres to score hat tricks in the same game since January of 2008 when Derek Roy and Drew Stafford accomplished the same feat. The two played well together last year when Peterka replaced Skinner on the top line, but they’ve taken their chemistry to a new level as Kulich’s wingers. Other teams will need to gameplan around this trio if they can continue the success.

Plus 3: Dominating Big Brother

Buffalo dominated a majority of this game and turned it into a blowout. This is an outlier in their recent history against the Bruins. The Sabres division rival has tormented the Buffalo in the last few years. Heading into this game, Boston was 16-3-1 against Buffalo in their last 20 matchups dating back to 2021. Likewise, Jeremy Swayman was 7-0-1 in his career against the Sabres with a .940 save percentage and 1.47 goals against average before this game. The Sabres were prepared to flip the script in this game and were successful. Hopefully, they can also change the trajectory of their season for the better.

Final Thoughts

The city of Buffalo needed a win, and the Sabres were able to deliver. Buffalo sports fans have been in mourning following the Bills loss in the AFC Championship game. While this doesn’t change Sunday’s pain, it helps ease it a bit. The Sabres played with speed and purpose to dominate their division rival. The only red flag in their game is the offensive production continues to be driven almost entirely by their first line. The Sabres offense needs more consistent contributions from the rest of their forward group. Now that they’ve figured out their top line, maybe they could add a dynamic point producing center to jump start their second line. I hear Vancouver is shopping someone like that.

Talking Points