The frustration was written all over Tage Thompson's face—and his stat line—after the Buffalo Sabres suffered a crushing 5-1 home loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night. The defeat wasn't just another playoff stumble; it was the Sabres' worst performance of the postseason, and it left the series tied at one game apiece as the teams head back to the Bell Centre for Game 3.
From the opening puck drop, Buffalo looked out of sync. Montreal, playing with desperation after dropping Game 1, jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Sabres struggled to find any rhythm, and their top players—the ones who are supposed to shine brightest in the playoffs—had nights they'd rather forget.
Rasmus Dahlin was beaten to the net on Alex Newhook's second-period goal. Alex Tuch finished the night a minus-3. But no one had a tougher outing than Tage Thompson, Buffalo's leading scorer and the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. He was on the ice for four of Montreal's five goals, and his costly turnover on Alexandre Carrier's third-period marker effectively snuffed out any hope of a Sabres comeback.
"Everything I touched turned to disaster," Thompson admitted after the game. "It was a tough one. We've got to be better. It's simple as that—we have to flush that one and move on."
Thompson's struggles, however, didn't start Friday night. Since scoring two goals in Buffalo's improbable Game 1 comeback against Boston in the first round, the three-time 40-goal scorer has gone ice cold. Over the last seven games, he has zero goals and just four assists. That drought has raised questions about whether he's playing through an injury. When asked directly by WGR 550 reporter Paul Hamilton, Thompson was short and dismissive in his response.
Where Thompson's slump has hurt the most is on the power play. Buffalo went 0-for-5 on Friday and is now a dismal 3-for-32 in eight playoff games. To make matters worse, two of those three power-play goals came from the second unit in Game 1—meaning the top unit, led by Thompson, has been largely ineffective.
Head coach Lindy Ruff, however, isn't panicking. He pointed to the team's resilience throughout the season, especially after dropping two home games to the Bruins in the first round. The Sabres responded by winning three straight on the road in Boston, and Ruff is hoping history repeats itself in Montreal.
"The last time we were in this spot, we found a way," Ruff said. "We know what we're capable of when our backs are against the wall."
The Sabres will need to rediscover that road magic quickly. Game 3 at the Bell Centre is Sunday, and with the series tied, every shift will matter. For Thompson and company, it's time to flush the frustration and get back to the hockey that got them here in the first place.