In the city known for its wings, two Sabres sizzled on Tuesday night. Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka both scored hat tricks as Buffalo’s top-line wingers led the charge back from an early deficit to beat the Bruins 7-2 in opening a four-game homestand at KeyBank Center.
The lead lasted all of 55 seconds. The B’s top line got hemmed in its own end for much of the shift and, after it finally pushed it out of the zone, the players got caught in a change. On a Sabre 4-on-3, Matt Poitras got lost out high and Dylan Cozens connected with the wide-open trailer Thompson, who ripped a slapper past Swayman.
The Boston Bruins hit the road to take on the Buffalo Sabres. The two teams have had polar opposite results in the win and loss column. The Bruins were 3-1-1 in their last five games, whereas the Sabres were coming off a four-game road trip and went 1-3.
The Buffalo Sabres activated forward Ryan McLeod off Injured Reserve (IR) and is expected to play Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to media on Friday that McLeod would be in the lineup.
Read the recent NHL news and rumors about JJ Peterka for fantasy hockey. Buffalo Sabres left wing JJ Peterka scored three goals and added
McLeod will return to the lineup for the Sabres on Saturday, just in time to make his return to Rogers Place and play his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, for the first time. McLeod has missed the past three games with what he described as a “nagging” upper-body injury.
With three goals and one assist apiece, Thompson and Peterka led the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-2 thrashing of the Boston Bruins. Fittingly, Buffalo’s most recent two-hat trick game had come against the Atlanta Thrashers on Jan. 18, 2008, courtesy of Derek Roy and Drew Stafford.
Lindy Ruff hasn’t asked Tage Thompson if he’s still dealing with the bothersome injury that forced him to move from center to right wing earlier this month.
Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 15 assists in his last 15 games. Dahlin is two assists away from tying Mike Ramsey for the second-most assists (256) by a Sabres defenseman alltime. Dahlin is one goal away from tying Ramsey for the second-most goals by a defenseman in franchise history (73).
Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka had hat tricks, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves as Buffalo rolled to a 7-2 win over Boston.
The Sabres return home for an Atlantic Division showdown. The Buffalo Sabres face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday at KeyBank Center, aiming to put their 1-3-0 road trip, which ended with a 3-2 loss Saturday in Edmonton, behind them.