Tage Thompson is one of the best pure shooters in today’s NHL, and against the Washington Capitals, he went viral for a wild 28-second span.
During a late first-period power play, the Buffalo Sabres’ leading scorer fired five consecutive one-timers at Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren but did not find the back of the net on any of his huge shots.
“That was probably one of the crazier sequences I’ve ever seen on a power play,” Lindgren said. “He was letting it rip… Obviously, the guy can shoot the puck. Thankfully, kept those pucks out, but after the period, it was kinda funny looking back at that.”
In its play-by-play, the NHL credited Lindgren with making three saves while one shot was blocked by Trevor van Riemsdyk and the final attempt hit the side of the net.
“First time that’s ever happened (to me),” Lindgren said. “I was just telling Scotty (Capitals goaltending coach Scott Murray), I’m going to be excited to watch that one over. That was pretty comical.”
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was equally as impressed.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a sequence in 16 years of doing (this), where the crowd’s like — it was almost like WWE, like ‘One more! Again! Again!'” Carbery said. “He was phenomenal tonight for us. And I give him a lot of credit, because Logan’s been carrying (the) majority of the load, and Chuckie getting in, in a back-to-back against the hottest team in the National Hockey League, it’s a tough scenario to be put into. And Chuckie, man, he had a great performance for his guys tonight. Real proud of him, because obviously we know where we are and every single game is — we’re hanging in the balance here. And so for him to come in and play the way he did with what’s at stake, I’m real proud of the performance he put forth today.”
Inside the Sabres locker room, Thompson was more in disbelief that he didn’t light the lamp on one of his chances.
“Yeah, no, I certainly thought one of them was going to go in,” Thompson said. “Felt like I got a lot on all of them and placed them pretty well. I thought their goalie played well. He made some big saves when they needed them. You know, keeps them in the game, gives them life. And obviously, they kind of just lingered all game.”
When asked if he found it unbelievable how the sequence developed, Thompson pointed to how much the Sabres’ power play had the Capitals working in their own zone.
“I think they were tired,” Thompson said. “It’s tough for a kill when they’re running around. And, you know, tee up a couple, and kind of we get back on it at first. Puck just seemed to keep coming back to me. So I just kept firing away.”
Each time Thompson let one of his shots rip, the KeyBank Center crowd got louder and buzzed with anticipation. Thompson, however, didn’t notice at ice level.
“You know, I’m kind of locked into the game,” Thompson said. “I’m just trying to put one in the back of the net. Just not really aware of what else is going on.”
The sequence ended up being a pivotal moment in the game, as the Sabres could not add another goal after Sam Carrick’s tally early in the first period. The Capitals would go on to win 2-1 after defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored his 23rd goal of the season with 1:33 remaining. Thompson had a game-high 5 shots on goal and 15 individual shot attempts in 22:04 of ice time.
