Club’s top goal scorer held out of all three games during West Coast swing
The Buffalo Sabres were successful on their three-game California road swing, squeaking out victories over the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and San Jose Sharks, and all without center Tage Thompson in the lineup. The Sabres leading scorer was hopeful that after practicing prior to leaving for the West Coast that he would be able to return at some point during the trip, but head coach Lindy Ruff scratched him on Saturday in San Jose out of an abundance of caution.
"It's nice to see the boys get six points on the road trip. Obviously, I would like to be in the lineup helping them out, but it's one of those injuries where it was kind of nagging me. I thought I was close. I still feel it every once in a while, so just better off making sure I'm ready to go," Thompson said after practice on Tuesday. "I told them I was ready if they needed me. (Keeping me out was) the decision they made, I think it's smart for sure to take an extra few days."
The decision did not prove costly for Buffalo, who got a third-period short-handed goal from Alex Tuch and an excellent performance out of backup James Reimer to beat the Sharks. After an off day, Ruff put the club through a lengthy practice at Key Bank Center in preparation for another stretch of three games in four nights wrapped around the Thanksgiving holiday, starting with the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
"(Tage) felt he needed a couple of really good practices. You go into the last couple of games and you're not practicing as a team and you're not practicing in between (games). It was going to be hard to evaluate really where he was at." Ruff said after practice on Tuesday. "I know he said he felt better, (but) he did say he would prefer to have a couple of practices and so I think part of that decision."
Injured winger Jordan Greenway underwent a procedure according to Ruff while the club was on the road that could possibly help address the middle-body issues he is dealing with.
