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Sabres Are Scary Good on Halloween Night

Posted on by Jeff Dahlberg

Score: Sabres 8, Red Wings 3

Shots: Buffalo 46, Detroit 18

Buffalo Sabres Goals: Tage Thompson (3), Jack Quinn (1), Jeff Skinner (1), Rasmus Dahlin (1), Dylan Cozens (1), Rasmus Asplund (1)

Detroit Red Wings Goals: Olli Maatta (1), David Perron (1), Dylan Larkin (1)

Plus 1: TNT Blows Up the Red Wings

Tage Nathaniel Thompson is having a great season start. The Sabres forward scored five goals in the past two games and his Halloween hat trick is shared by Wayne Gretzky, Dave Taylor, Kevin Stevens and Geoff Sanderson, among others.

Thompson opened the scoring with a slap shot on Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic near the end of the first period. At the 18:30 mark of the second, TT got another one in the net on a Sabres power play. His hat trick came with just 4:02 left in the third. Skinner and Dahlin assisted with a wrister that brought the crowd to its feet and hats raining down on the ice.

Plus 2: Quinn Gets First Season Goal

Jedi13 had the Comment of the Game: “Wooooo Jack with a RIPPER!” Early in the second period, Olli Maatta got a slap shot on Eric Comrie to tie it 1-1. Four minutes later, Jack Quinn answered back with his own slap shot to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. It was his first goal of the season and gave the Sabres momentum to keep scoring and widen their lead. Let’s hope there’ll be more coming from No. 22 soon.

Plus 3: Dahlin Delivers When the Sabres Need it Most

Buffalo dominated the first and second periods, outshooting Detroit 14 to 6 and 9 to 15, respectively. The Sabres also sat on a three-goal lead towards the end of the second, until the Wings stared chipping away at it. First David Perron scored to make it 4-2 Buffalo, then Dylan Larkin got a shorthander in the third period to whittle the Sabres’ lead to 1.

The Red Wings turned on the pressure, looking like they did so many times last year when they had Buffalo on the ropes. With 7:07 to go, Dahlin scored a power play goal that shifted the momentum back and gave Buffalo a two-goal cushion again. Cozens, Thompson and Asplund followed that up with a goal each but Dahlin rescued the lead when Detroit looked about to dash fans’ hopes.

Plus: 4 Skinner Sizzles

Jeff Skinner was overdue for a puck in the net. Before tonight’s matchup, No. 53 had only one goal and two assists in his last five games. Skinner followed up Quinn’s first goal with his second one this season and career 300th, a quick wrist shot on Nedeljkovic. Fans expect more production out of Skinner and it was great to see a glimpse of the sniper he can be.

Final Thoughts

The Detroit Red Wings are one of those franchises the Sabres struggled against the previous season. Before tonight’s 8-3 trouncing, Buffalo last beat the Wings on Feb. 11, 2020. Detroit won all four meetings in 2021-22, including three OT wins.

It was past time to put these rivals in their place and play some 60-minute aggressive hockey that’s been the exception rather than the rule until recently. The Sabres acted like a playoff team the last two games, and it’s only the beginning of November. Fans want to see some more and hopefully they’ll get their wish.

The Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 pm.

Talking Points