Avalanche overcome Thompson hat trick, defeat Sabres

BUFFALO -- Alex Newhook scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 at KeyBank Center on Saturday for their seventh straight road win.

Colorado tied the second-longest road streak in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history, behind a nine-game streak in 2019-20.
"To be able to string together seven in a row, at a tough time in the year, I think it kind of shows that we can play our game, not just in our building, but on the road as well," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist, and Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves for the Avalanche (36-9-4), who are 19-1-2 in their past 22 games. Kuemper is 16-0-2 in his past 18 decisions.
Newhook gave the Avalanche a 4-3 lead at 8:37 of the third period, taking a backhand pass from Rantanen in the left circle.
"I think there's still a lot that we know we can play better, especially against every opponent," Newhook said. "I think sometimes our approach can be a little different, but we're finding ways to win and that's what's most important right now for us."

Tage Thompson scored his first NHL hat trick, and Jeff Skinner had two assists for the Sabres (16-26-8), who lost their second straight. Dustin Tokarski made 31 saves.
"Losing [stinks]," Thompson said. "It never feels good to lose, but I think the team responded well. After last game (a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday), that's not our standard. That's not what we're about and everyone in the room knows that. I think we showed up today with the right attitude, the right mindset and the focus going into the game. We played a full 60. That was the outcome. The effort was there, but the result [stinks]."
Thompson gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 2:50 of the first period, taking a pass from Skinner in the left circle.
Nathan MacKinnon tied it 1-1 at 3:35, scoring five-hole on Tokarski from the bottom of the left circle.
J.T. Compher put the Avalanche ahead 2-1 at 11:18 when his backhand shot went into the air and landed at the goal line before sliding past Tokarski's right pad.
"I liked him a lot," Bednar said of Compher. "I thought he was really competitive. He looked quicker, the quickest we've seen in a while. Engaged right off the bat, right from the drop of the puck."

Thompson tied it 2-2 at 12:42 from the slot, and Nazem Kadri put Colorado back in front 20 seconds later, making it 3-2 at 13:02 when he scored from the right circle.
Thompson tied it 3-3 at 12:54 of the second period, getting a rebound in the slot and spinning around to complete the hat trick.
"It's a cool experience, for sure," Thompson said after his 46th NHL game. "You grow up and you want to play in the NHL and those are little dreams you have: scoring a hat trick, winning Stanley Cups. For one of those to come true and get a hat trick, it's a cool feeling."

Rantanen scored into an empty net with 52 seconds remaining for the 5-3 final.
Buffalo has lost five of its past seven games (2-4-1).
"At some point you step back as a coach and they decide how hard to go for a puck, how hard to battle, what the standard is going to be," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "And you obviously work with them to elevate the standard, personal standards. I think our guys are continually progressing in that regard. But at the end of the day, it's their team."
NOTES:Cale Makar had an assist on MacKinnon's goal for his 50th point of the season in his 45th game. It was the second-fewest games by a defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history to reach the mark behind Steve Duchesne (41 games in 1992-93). … Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt played 15:10 and had three shots on goal after missing five games with an upper-body injury.