Game 16: Uh-oh

The Buffalo Sabres 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins would be bad news enough, but they'll be without Tage Thompson for some time because of injury, too.

Sabres skate on Tuesday ahead of their game against Boston. (Photo: Joe Yerdon)

BUFFALO — The Buffalo Sabres matchup against the Boston Bruins was set to be a measuring stick of sorts given that the Bruins are again one of the best teams in the NHL. What wasn’t being counted on was how rude it was all going to play out.

The Sabres lost 5-2 on what was captain Kyle Okposo’s 1,000th NHL game. Devon Levi gave up five goals on 18 shots before he was pulled in the second period. Victor Olofsson scored both goals for Buffalo, which was a welcome sign, but the worst news of it all came when Tage Thompson left the game in the second period after a Charlie McAvoy shot went off his left arm and left the star center in a massive amount of pain before he left the game for good.

Thompson had just returned to the game at the start of the second period after he’d suffered a skate cut after a collision with McAvoy near the Bruins net in the first period. The Sabres are going to need to have a few players step up for the foreseeable future.

“Tage is going to miss some time here, probably significant time unfortunately,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “He fought through the first injury but couldn’t fight through the second one. Credit to him to battle but it’s unfortunate.”

Thompson was third on the team in scoring with 12 points (six goals, six assists) and has been one of the Sabres best puck defenders at even strength and particularly on the penalty kill this season.

In a game that had a few worrisome details, the loss of Thompson overruns all of them and now puts the onus on others to make up for his temporary, albeit significant, departure.