Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson out day-to-day with upper-body injury

The 26-year-old has tallied 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points in 53 games this season. He sits third among Sabres’ goal scorers trailing JJ Peterka and Jeff Skinner, he ranks seventh in points on the club. Thompson has had a bad go with injuries this season, he missed nine games due to an upper-body injury that he suffered on November 14th against the Boston Bruins after a puck hit his hand during a blocked shot attempt.

Last season, the 6-foot-7 center took the hockey world by storm, notching a team-leading and career-high 47 goals and 47 assists for 94 points in 78 games during the 2022-23 campaign. Part of those 47 goals also included an astonishing five-goal effort which he concluded in December 2022 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Thompson was originally a No. 26 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, Thompson was dealt to the Sabres in the Ryan O’Reilly deal. During the 2021-22 season, Thompson emerged and notched 38 goals and 68 points in 78 games. During the off-season, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams signed the Glendale, Arizona product to a monster seven-year, $50,000,000 contract. The contract has an average annual value of $7,100,000 which has taken effect this season.

Meanwhile, with Thompson out, Lukas Rousek draws into the lineup. The Czechia product has appeared in seven games with the Sabres throughout the last two seasons, recording one goal and one assist. Rousek has tallied 10 goals and 28 assists for 38 points in 48 games with the Sabres’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Rochester Americans.