Five-Game Winning Streak Puts Sabres in Playoff Picture

With Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power on the roster, the Buffalo Sabres’ story is about a promising tomorrow.

But the Sabres are playing as if they would like to find success today.

Thompson produced a goal and an assist to power the Sabres to a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets for their fifth consecutive win. The triumph leaves the Sabres only two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and three behind the Washington Capitals in the race for one of the two wildcard playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres have missed the postseason for the last 11 seasons.

Thompson, 25, continues to be the talk of the NHL. With 34 goals and 34 assists in 48 games, Thompson is on pace for 58 goals and 116 points. The 6-foot-6 center boasts three goals and seven assists for 10 points in his current six-game points streak.

Excitement over the team has reached the point in Buffalo that general manager Kevyn Adams is contemplating trading for help for the playoff push.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Sabres are talking to the San Jose Sharks about a deal involving forward Timo Meier. Imagine the Swiss standout joining a Sabres offense that currently leads the league with a 3.79-goals-per-game average.

The Sabres might also consider adding a goalie to play with 41-year-old Craig Anderson.

Buffalo’s playoff potential will be tested starting Sunday when it faces the Minnesota Wild for the start of four consecutive games against playoff-caliber teams. After meeting the Wild, they have to play the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings. The Hurricanes also have won three in a row.

🎇 It was a WILD one in St. Paul last night! Fans at the Wild vs. Flyers game were provided quite the show as three fights happened in just 16 seconds of action in the first period — including the heavyweight bout we've all been waiting for: Ryan Reaves vs. Nicolas Deslauriers (watch here). Matt Boldy scored twice for the Wild and Tony DeAngelo forced overtime with just 1:28 left in regulation, before Mats Zuccarello sealed the 3-2 Wild victory with a highlight reel goal (watch here) in overtime.

🦅 The Washington Capitals move one point ahead of Pittsburgh with shootout win. Alex Ovechkin got the Caps on the board first with a power play one-timer (watch here) six minutes into the game for his 32nd of the year. Penguins forward Danton Heinen tied it in the second before Marcus Johansson and Bryan Rust traded goals in the third period to send the game to OT. Ultimately the game was decided in a shootout (watch the full shootout here) with Kuznetsov and Backstrom scoring for the Caps. The Caps now sit in the first Eastern Conference wild card spot with the Pens one point behind in the second wild card... just two points ahead of the trending Buffalo Sabres.

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