Sabres vs. Kings: Tage Thompson's Late Power-Play Strike Finishes Buffalo's California Sweep

With 6:20 left in a tie game, the Los Angeles Kings made the one mistake you cannot make against these Buffalo Sabres: they sent them to the power play. Eleven seconds later, Jack Quinn slid the puck across to Tage Thompson, Thompson leaned into a one-timer, and Buffalo's California road trip went from solid to spotless.

The Sabres beat the Kings 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena. Thompson scored twice, Quinn had a goal and an assist, Zach Benson and Rasmus Dahlin had two assists apiece, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves. Buffalo has won three straight, its first three-game winning streak of the season according to the team, and the AP noted the Sabres have now collected a point in seven consecutive road games.

A Clinic, Then a Costume Change

For most of two periods, this was Buffalo's game to lose. Corey Perry went to the box for slashing Dahlin at 5:24 of the first, and 71 seconds later Benson whipped a spinning backhand feed from the right wall to Quinn. One quick shift of the puck later, Anton Forsberg was beaten and Quinn had his eighth goal of the season.

Thompson made it 2-0 at 15:38 of the second, snapping his ninth of the season past Forsberg off feeds from Benson and Mattias Samuelsson. At 2-0, with the Kings coughing up the puck all afternoon (14 giveaways to Buffalo's eight), the Sabres looked to be cruising.

Then Buffalo swapped its disciplined road costume for something scarier. Ryan McLeod took a slashing minor at 17:14 of the second, and 10 seconds later Perry got a stick on a puck in front for a deflected power-play goal, his first of the season. Per the AP, Los Angeles needed a coach's challenge to overturn a goaltender interference call before it counted. Dahlin added a cross-checking minor at 19:20, and the Kings carried that energy into the third.

It took them 89 seconds. Andre Lee tipped in a feed with Scott Laughton and Joel Armia drawing assists, his first goal of the season, and a game the Sabres had been bossing was suddenly tied 2-2.

Tage Thompson Is Shooting Like the Net Owes Him Rent

Thompson finished with two goals on eight shots. According to the team, that gives him five goals over his last two games, a team-leading 10 on the season and 63 shots, second most in the league. That volume is a problem for every goalie on the schedule.

The bigger story might be the unit around him. Buffalo went 2-for-3 on the power play Saturday and is 4-for-6 over its last two games, per the team, after opening the season 0-for-13. Thompson credited a simple reset in approach.

"Our group's gotten together as a unit and just talked about what we're looking for out there," Thompson said, per the Sabres' website. "I think every power play should have an objective of who you're trying to find and where the threats are. When you do that, it takes the thinking out of it, the puck moves quicker, and you let the puck do the work."

Quinn factored on both power-play goals and credited the setup man on the first. "Just a crazy play," Quinn said of Benson's pass. "But he's got such good vision, he does that stuff all the time, you so learn to expect it from him." Per the team, Benson leads the Sabres with nine primary assists.

Luukkonen Kept the Lights On

Luukkonen was making his first start in a week after Colten Ellis won in San Jose and Anaheim, and he looked anything but rusty. He stopped an Erik Haula breakaway in the first and made 13 saves in a second period the Kings tilted hard. The Sabres' site cited Stathletes data crediting Los Angeles with 4.01 expected goals, so this was real goaltending.

"I felt great. I've been feeling good in the games," Luukkonen said.

The Turning Point

Josh Doan drew a tripping call on Mikey Anderson at 13:29 of the third, and Buffalo promptly lost the opening faceoff. Then Noah Östlund won the race to the rimmed puck, kept it in the zone and moved it to Dahlin up top. The penalty killers got pulled out of shape, Quinn spotted Thompson, and that was the winner.

"The loose-puck recovery by Östlund on the goal tonight was huge," coach Lindy Ruff said.

There was one more scare. With 3:39 left, Joel Edmundson leveled Peyton Krebs in the neutral zone after the two had tangled earlier in the period, and Thompson went right after Edmundson. Thompson was the only one penalized, a roughing minor that handed the Kings a power play with the game on the line. Buffalo killed it.

"He's looking after his teammate. He thought it's a bad hit," Ruff said. Thompson's own review was shorter: "A huge kill to bail me out there."

Stats That Matter

• 2-for-3: Buffalo's power play on Saturday. The Kings went 1-for-5 with the extra man.
• 30: Blocked shots by the Sabres, a season high per the team. Samuelsson had eight of them in 25:59.
• 34-19: The Kings' edge in faceoffs. They owned the dot and still came up short.
• 8: Shots on goal for Thompson, who treats volume like a personality trait.
• 7: Consecutive road games with at least a point for Buffalo, per the AP.

What It Means

The Sabres are 7-4-3 with 17 points, 4-1-3 away from home, and they fly back to Buffalo with seven of a possible eight points from the trip, according to the team. Luukkonen framed it in terms of the division.

"Everybody knows how good the Atlantic is this year. I think the biggest thing right now is that we have to be able to string points together, string good games and wins together," he said.

Buffalo opens a four-game homestand Wednesday against Ottawa.

The Kings fell to 4-7-2 with 10 points and are 1-4-0 at home, two days after outlasting Ottawa 6-5 in overtime. They played without top forward Adrian Kempe, who the AP said is day to day with an undisclosed injury, and Martin Chromiak made his NHL debut in Kempe's spot on the top line and power play. Los Angeles hosts San Jose on Wednesday.

Closing Take

For a month, the Sabres looked like a team trying on identities. In California, they found one that fits: feed Thompson, trust the goalie, block everything. On Halloween, they went door to door down the coast and came home with a full bag.

"Obviously a slow start for us, but it's great to contribute," Quinn said. "It's what our team needs from us."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by the Buffalo Sabres on nhl.com.