Thompson’s five-point night gives Buffalo just enough in a 7-6 win

Tage Thompson supplied five points, and Buffalo needed every scoring surge it could find. The Sabres beat the Anaheim Ducks 7-6 on Thursday, surviving two goals in the final 68 seconds after turning an early two-goal deficit into a 7-3 lead.

Thompson scored three consecutive goals across the first and second periods and assisted on two more. He did that in 17:49 of ice time, with three goals on four shots. Zach Benson added a goal and two assists, while Peyton Krebs assisted on three goals.

The opening minutes had put Buffalo in immediate trouble. Mikael Granlund scored on a five-on-three advantage at 1:57, and Cutter Gauthier added another power-play goal at 2:54. Tyson Kozak answered at 10:03, but Roger McQueen restored Anaheim’s two-goal lead 35 seconds later.

Fifteen seconds changed the lead

Noah Ostlund’s power-play goal at 11:39 began Buffalo’s six-goal run. Thompson tied the game at 15:32 of the first period, then scored at 18:36 and 18:51 of the second. Fifteen seconds turned a one-goal lead into a two-goal cushion. No other player scored between his first and third goals, completing a natural hat trick.

Jack Quinn’s power-play goal at 1:57 of the third made it 6-3. Benson extended the lead to four at 6:37, with Thompson collecting his second assist. From Ostlund’s goal through Benson’s, Buffalo had changed the game from a two-goal deficit to a four-goal lead.

The scoring was spread widely enough to support Thompson’s exceptional night. Five Sabres scored, and Benson and Krebs each finished with three points. Buffalo put seven goals past Ville Husso on 31 shots; Anaheim finished with 35 shots against Colten Ellis.

A finish Buffalo nearly gave back

Gauthier’s second power-play goal began Anaheim’s response at 7:26 of the third. With Husso off for an extra attacker, Tristan Luneau scored at 18:52 and Beckett Sennecke at 19:29. Buffalo’s four-goal cushion had shrunk to one, with 31 seconds left to protect it.

Ellis finished with 29 saves. Gauthier had ten shots and two goals for Anaheim, while Leo Carlsson assisted on three. Buffalo conceded three power-play goals and two late goals against the extra attacker, a costly combination even on a night when its offense produced seven.

The Sabres earned the result through a sustained scoring run and Thompson’s finishing. The closing minutes also gave them a specific problem to review: a comfortable third-period lead became a last-shift test. Seven goals were enough, by one.