Thompson's Five in a Night

Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson had the hockey world losing its mind as he became only the fifth player to ever have a four-goal first period and the first to do so in the last 28 years. 

The 25-year-old put up six points overall with five goals and one assist, all but one goal appearing in the first 20 minutes. This makes Thompson the seventh player to record five points in the first, doing so in only 5:14 time on ice.  

This seems to be on par for the 6’6 center this season, as he’s got a total of 40 points in 26 games, making him fourth overall among league point leaders. He’s currently on pace for 126 points to round out the regular season, a far cry from his 68 points in 78 games last year. 

Thompson grew up in the hockey world as his father, Brett Thompson, played 121 games in the NHL and later became a coach in the ECHL and AHL. Tage could often be found in the locker room, hanging out with players like Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins, who played with Brett for Providence in 2004. The Sabres star forward and Bruins captain had an on-ice catch-up in the November 11th game where Bergeron asked how Thompson’s wife was recovering from cancer, touching the hearts of the hockey world. With players like that to look up to, it’s no wonder Thompson has become the leader he is. 

When asked about his five goals, the center replied, “You can’t be satisfied. Obviously, it’s a great achievement. You want to be happy for yourself. But at the same time, there’s more work for us to do. We’re not where we want to be as a team, and it’s my job to help us get there.” The Sabres haven’t made a playoff appearance since 2011, but the possibility seems more likely this season if this caliber of performance continues. Though they’re sitting at seventh in the Eastern Wild Card division, with players like Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Jeff Skinner performing as they are, could we see the Sabres make a run for the Cup?