Ducks Rally Late but Fall 7-6 to Sabres

ANAHEIM -- Tage Thompson had a natural hat trick and two assists for the Buffalo Sabres, who scored six straight goals and held on for a 7-6 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Thursday.

Thompson completed his 10th NHL hat trick by scoring 15 seconds apart late in the second period to give Buffalo a two-goal lead after it twice trailed by two goals in the first period.

"Some games you get chances and they don't go in for you. Some games you don't get any chances and, somehow, you find one, and some games you get a lot of chances and they all go in for you," Thompson said. "Tonight was one of those games. It's always good when that happens."

Zach Benson had a goal and two assists, Peyton Krebs had three assists and Jack Quinn scored for the Sabres (6-4-3), who won their second in a row and have points in the first three of a four-game road trip (2-0-1). Rasmus Dahlin had two assists, and Colten Ellis made 29 saves.

Buffalo defenseman Olen Zellweger had an assist in his first game against his former team after being acquired from Anaheim on June 26.

Cutter Gauthier scored two power-play goals, Beckett Sennecke had a goal and an assist and Leo Carlsson had three assists for the Ducks (5-7-1), who have lost seven of eight (1-6-1), including a 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday after blowing a three-goal lead with 7:37 remaining in regulation. Jackson LaCombe had two assists, and Ville Husso allowed seven goals on 31 shots.

Roger McQueen, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, scored his first NHL goal for the Ducks.

"I liked the way we hung in there and tried to find a way, but the puck's going in too easily," Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said.

Trailing 3-1 midway through the first period, Buffalo scored six straight goals to take a 7-3 lead.

Noah Ostlund’s power-play goal cut it to 3-2 at 11:39, scoring from the right circle on a one-timer.

Thompson tied it 3-3 at 15:32 when he entered the offensive zone with speed and went around Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau before scoring from in close.

Thompson’s second goal gave the Sabres a 4-3 lead at 18:36 of the second period with a one-timer from the top of the right circle following a face-off win. He completed the natural hat trick with another drive to the net at 18:51 to extend it to 5-3, finishing with a backhand from in close.

"I thought we did a good job clawing back and then we find ourselves in a good spot in the second," Thompson said. "I thought we took over, dominated that period and then got rewarded at the end there."

Quinn scored on the power play to make it 6-3 at 1:57 of the third period after redirecting a pass into the net. Benson’s breakaway goal pushed it to 7-3 at 6:37.

"I just feel like we're not on the same page," Carlsson said.

Gauthier’s second power-play goal of the game cut it to 7-4 at 7:26 before Luneau scored with Husso pulled for the extra skater to make it 7-5 with 1:08 left.

Sennecke then brought it to 7-6 with 31 seconds remaining, also scoring on the 6-on-5 advantage before Buffalo held on.

"They started throwing everything at the net and got a few bounces and made it a close hockey game again," Benson said.

Mikael Granlund gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 1:57 of the first period on a 5-on-3 power play, redirecting the puck into the net after it slid between his legs.

Gauthier extended it to 2-0 at 2:54, scoring on a one-timer from the right circle during the second penalty.

"It's just tough when you let up two goals early in the game and you give them power plays," Thompson said. "You get their big guys going, feeling the puck, making plays. Not a spot you want to be in, but I thought our group was pretty calm on the bench."

Tyson Kozak cut it to 2-1 at 10:03 when he scored on a one-timer from just inside the blue line with traffic in front of Husso.

McQueen made it 3-1 just 35 seconds later when the puck caromed to him off the end boards and he converted from the right hash marks.

"Wish it was in a win, but I'm happy for him," Carlsson said of McQueen's first goal in his eighth NHL game.

NOTES: Thompson tied Danny Gare and Alexander Mogilny for the third-most hat tricks in team history, and also tied Jeremy Roenick and Jimmy Carson for the sixth most by a U.S.-born player. ... Carlsson has three straight multipoint games (two goals, five assists), his second such streak this season. The last Ducks player to do so multiple times in a season was Ryan Getzlaf (twice in 2017-18). … Buffalo forward Sam Carrick returned after missing four games with a middle-body injury and assisted on Kozak's goal. ... Sennecke has a five-game home goal streak. … Quinn has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past eight games.