Tage Thompson records hat trick, 5 points as Sabres overpower Canadiens

Tage Thompson had a hand in all five goals, scoring three times and adding two assists for the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-3 win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Josh Doan had a goal and an assist, Alex Tuch also scored and Noah Ostlund had two assists for the Sabres, who have won 15 of their past 17 games.

Colten Ellis made 20 saves in his 11th NHL start for Buffalo.

Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki each had a goal and an assist, Ivan Demidov also scored, Lane Hutson contributed two assists, and Jacob Fowler made 22 saves for Montreal, which has dropped three of four (1-2-1).

The Sabres tied it 3-3 at 8:55 of the second on a one-timer from the left circle by Tuch off a feed from Thompson.

Thompson scored with a one-timer from the right hash marks off a feed from Doan to move Buffalo ahead 4-3 at 5:12 of the third period.

Thompson then completed his ninth NHL hat trick by scoring into an empty net with 1:40 remaining.

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead just 3:11 into the first period when Caufield followed up his rebound and lifted the puck into the net from in close.

The Sabres tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal just 54 seconds later.

Thompson received a pass above the left circle, worked his way closer to the net and then let go a wrist shot that beat Fowler on the short-side.

The Sabres moved ahead with another power-play goal at 10:30.

Doan received a pass to the right of Fowler and had room to skate in close before flipping the puck high in the net on the short-side for a 2-1 lead.

Buffalo has tallied four power-play goals in the past two games.

The Canadiens were on a 5-on-3 power play when Demidov scored with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle to tie it 2-2 at 14:20 of the first period.

Suzuki scored the second power-play goal of the game for the Canadiens when he chipped in a rebound that came out sideways, giving Montreal a 3-2 lead at 3:05 of the second.

The two teams combined to score four power-play goals on seven opportunities.