With their season on the line, Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres delivered perhaps their best effort of the year at the Bell Centre in Game 6 against Montreal.
Despite Alex Lyon allowing goals on the first three shots he faced, the Sabres stuck to their game and dominated throughout, routing the Canadiens 8-3 in front of a stunned home crowd that was hoping to see their team punch its ticket to the Eastern Conference Final.
Superstars Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin led the way, and when asked about the upcoming do-or-die Game 7, Thompson made it clear he isn’t concerned about experience—or the lack thereof—heading into a situation many on Buffalo’s roster will be experiencing for the first time.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t really think the experience thing is real. We’ve been in a situation all season where people have doubted us, had us out, had our backs against the wall the whole season. So it’s no different. Obviously, the stage is a little bigger, and the stakes are higher here, but at the end of the day, it’s still the same game. So nothing really changes for us. We’re a good team, we know that, and I think that belief in this room is the only thing that matters,”
The 28-year-old Thompson racked up four points (one goal, three assists) in the Game 6 win, raising his postseason totals to 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 12 games played so far.
Ryan McLeod, Alex Tuch, Tanner Pearson, and Jason Zucker are the only four Sabres to have previously played in a Game 7, so the rest of the roster will get its first taste on Monday night.
Puck drop for the final game of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is set for 7:30 p.m. EST at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
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