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Not only is Tage Thompson not scoring goals for the Buffalo Sabres.
He's also giving them up quite directly to the Montreal Canadiens.
On Friday night, he had a brutal slip and slide giveaway that set Alexandre Carrier up to go right in and score and give Montreal a 4-1 lead in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
It was kind of the story of the night for Thompson. Too often, he tried to do too much.
Rather than taking the first look that was sometimes there, he swiveled and turned and tried to make something out of nothing.
That's how he turned the puck over to Carrier, but it wasn't the first time he'd let Buffalo down like that on the night.
It seems clear that he's pressing.
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Thompson scored those two heroic goals in Game 1 against the Boston Bruins in the first round.
But in five more games against Boston, Thompson didn't score again.
He didn't score in Game 1, and he hadn't yet scored in Game 2 by the point in time he made that pivotal mistake.
Thompson led Buffalo in goals during the regular season, but he hasn't matched that so far. He's been a part of the struggling first power play unit, and he hasn't done much at even strength, either.
For the Sabres to make a playoff run, Thompson needs to be better, in a hurry.
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