Tage Thompson Carries Sabres Over Habs With 5-Point Night

The Montreal Canadiens fell to the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 on Thursday night, thanks to the dominance of Tage Thompson, who was involved in all of his team’s goals with 3 goals and 2 assists. With the loss, the Habs’ 5-game winning streak against the Sabres has been snapped, but as mentioned in the preview, this is a much different Sabres team.

The Montreal Canadiens fall to the Sabres, 5–3.

The #Habs are now 0-1-1 on their three-game road trip.

Thoughts ?

Les Canadiens de Montréal s’inclinent 5-3 face aux Sabres.

Prochain match : Canadiens c. Sénateurs
17 janvier à 19 h#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/od9on6wzAm

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) January 16, 2026

The Canadiens kept up with the Sabres for the majority of the game but they weren’t able to capitalize late in the game and allowed Thompson to take over the game late. There was also a controversial trip by the Sabres on Phillip Danault that went uncalled on the game-winning goal, but the fact that the Habs couldn’t find an answer to the giant, agile forward on the Sabres made it feel like the Canadiens didn’t deserve to win this game anyway. The next time they play the Sabres, they will need to figure out a way to stop Thompson from dominating the ice all night long. After Thursday night, the Canadiens will surely try to have a plan on how to stop him somehow when these two teams play next Thursday again in Montreal.

Pretty good night to have Tage Thompson in #FantasyHockey 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/yRaMyum9Ci

— NHL Fantasy (@NHLFantasy) January 16, 2026

Hsbs goaltender Jacob Fowler didn’t have a terrible game, but also failed to make the big saves when they were needed the most. The Canadiens allowed 2 goals on the penalty kill during the first period as the Sabres, who were riding on a ton of momentum from recent games, made it incredibly hard on Fowler, who couldn’t see the first shot that beat him due to a screen. However, the second goal was one he probably should have had, as he was caught down on his knees, where Josh Doan snuck it over his shoulder. That goal was exactly the type of play that, with a save, could have made the game much different. The 3rd goal was also very savable, as he dropped to his knees too early on an Alex Tuch shot as well.

Even if Fowler wasn’t terrible, it was definitely a frustrating night for him, as he wasn’t able to do enough to help his team get a win, as he made a few key mistakes that resulted in two big goals for the Sabres.

Cole Caufield opens the scoring for the Canadiens 🔥 pic.twitter.com/t855XRePLQ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 16, 2026

The Habs came into the game ready to go and hopefully extend their winning streak against the Sabres. It would only take 3:11 into the game when Noah Dobson would spring a streaking Cole Caufield up ice for a 2-on-1 with Alexandre Texier, in which he’d keep the puck and shoot it. His initial chance was stopped by Colten Ellis, but Caufield would immediately bury the rebound to give the Habs an early 1-0 lead. This was a goal that must’ve felt good for Caufield who hadn’t scored in 4 games.

Tage Thompson with a MISSLE through Alex Carrier's legs and the Sabres have tied things up! 😬 pic.twitter.com/4wZiuj4qy4

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 16, 2026

Unfortunately, the lead wouldn’t even last a minute as Lane Hutson would take a high-sticking penalty for trying to protect himself while Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn went in to hit him with a cross-check in the face area. While in the box, Thompson would capitalize almost immediately on the power-play as he ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle through a good screen by Sabres players in front of the net to beat Fowler and tie the game. It was a bad result and a questionable call, as likely both Malestyn and Hutson could have been given penalties on that play, but the Habs would have to move on tied at 1.

Josh Doan goes absolute top bunk up close 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OoWsnxbiZg

— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 16, 2026

Midway through the first period, on the Sabres next power play, Doan took advantage of Fowler on his knees by driving in front from the side of the net to flip over the Habs rookie netminder to give his team the lead.

INCROYABLE! Alexandre Texier était certain d’avoir marqué… mais non 😱 pic.twitter.com/CQFKMYs9WX

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) January 16, 2026

The Habs would try to respond almost right away as Texier drove to the net and appeared to beat Ellis, but the puck did a weird spin on the goal line and never crossed. The referee had seen it and waved it down right away as play continued. Despite the bad luck, the Habs would get a power play of their own by the next whistle. A minute after that, the Sabres would take a 2nd penalty and give the Habs a 5-on-3 power play.

IVAN DEMIDOV 🚀

WHAT A SHOT FROM THE ROOKIE! pic.twitter.com/TwoPCKHFsc

— NHL (@NHL) January 16, 2026

Unlike previous 5-on-3 power plays, the Habs used Hutson at the point instead of Noah Dobson. Lo and behold, it was exactly what the Habs needed to get out of their 2-man advantage slump. Hutson would feed Ivan Demidov for a one-time shot that would beat the Sabres’ netminder and tie the game up. With his assist, Hutson became the 2nd fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach 100 assists, accomplishing it in his 132nd NHL game. Only Sergei Zubov, who did it in 127 games, has done it faster.

Suzuki strikes on the power play. 💪 pic.twitter.com/X1hkusNZkv

— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) January 16, 2026

Early in the 2nd period, the Canadiens would get another power play where they would capitalize and regain the lead. This time it was Nick Suzuki who would jump on a rebound from a Hutson shot and bury the puck into the back of the net to put the Habs up 3-2. Suzuki, who got the other assist on Demidov’s goal, has now scored 2+ points in 5 of his last 6 games against the Sabres. No matter how tough things are going in his game, Suzuki always seems to produce when he plays against Buffalo.

Tuch around and find out. Jarmo, give Tuch his $11 AAV already 3-3 #SabreHood ⚔️pic.twitter.com/45WEIsFfiJ

— Buzz (@SabresBuzz) January 16, 2026

The Habs’ lead would last a bit longer than the first time, but it wouldn’t be long before the Sabres would come back and tie it 8:05 into the 2nd period. Of all the goals Fowler allowed, this is the one that was likely the one he’d want back most, as had he stayed on his feet, he likely would have stopped Tuch, and the Habs could have entered the 3rd period with a lead. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as Thompson would feed Tuch in the Habs zone, where he would put the puck past Fowler to tie the game once again.

Neither team would have a chance to grab the lead before the end of the 2nd period as they would finish tied after 40 in a situation that was very winnable for both teams.

TAGE THOMPSON FINDS NET AGAIN 🥅

Sabres lead 4-3 pic.twitter.com/XdeSWeD7jd

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 16, 2026

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, after Danault loses a battle in the aftermath of appearing to be held by a Sabre, which would lead to a sort of 2-on-1 in the defensive zone where Doan would get the puck and send it over to Thompson, who would score his 2nd of the game and the eventual game winner with a one-time wrister from the slot that beat Fowler cleanly. The no-call really hurt the Habs but what they did the rest of the way didn’t help them much either.

The Canadiens would have several chances around the net during the 3rd period in which Ellis was out of place, but the Habs were never able to get a clean shot off as the puck either bounced off them or the Sabres’ defenders stopped them from getting a potential shot off. Unfortunately, it felt after that those sequences of chances where they couldn’t tie the game hurt them, and they weren’t able to create much after that.

🚨 TAGE THOMPSON HAT TRICK 🚨 pic.twitter.com/a7xrQ9hsfK

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 16, 2026

Even with their goaltender pulled, the Habs failed to create anything. It wouldn’t take long for the Sabres to get the puck out of the zone, which led to Thompson having a breakaway to get the empty net goal for his hat trick. This would ice the game in what felt like a very important matchup for the Canadiens to win against a team lurking right behind them in the standings.

With their victory against the Habs, the Sabres are now just 3 points back of them for 3rd in the Atlantic Division with 2 games in hand. The Habs will hope to get revenge next week when they face the Sabres at home next Thursday.

In the meantime, the Canadiens’ next game will be against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, where they will be looking to avoid dropping 3 straight games.