Sabres Honor Olympic Gold Winner
The Buffalo Sabres honored their U.S. gold medal-winning Olympian and capped the celebration with Tage Thompson scoring the decisive goal in their victory. Buffalo continues their hot streak as the league's best team since Dec. 9 with 24 wins and 50 points.
The ceremony honored Sabres forward Tage Thompson for his role in Team USA's gold medal victory at the recent Milan Cortina Games. Thompson contributed three goals and an assist during his Olympic debut. This was the first time the U.S. men's hockey team has won Olympic gold since 1980 and the first time ever in an Olympics featuring active NHL players. The American team defeated rival Canada 2-1 in a dramatic overtime victory to secure the title. The pregame ceremony also featured Thompson's U.S. teammates from the Vegas Golden Knights, defenseman Noah Hanifin and former Sabres captain Jack Eichel. In a rare occurrence since his trade from Buffalo, Eichel received cheers from the crowd during a ceremonial faceoff with Thompson. The Sabres' recent success is a significant turnaround as the franchise aims to break the NHL's longest active playoff drought of 14 years. Their 35 wins in 61 games marks the team's best start to a season since 2006-07.
