Thompson’s first one tied it 3-3 late in a wild opening period. Krebs backhanded a perfect stretch pass to Benson at the offensive blue line. Benson touched it into space for Thompson, who sped into the zone, around Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau and to the net.
The game remained tied through most of the second despite an onslaught of Sabres scoring chances. Buffalo was cycling the puck with ease, intercepting Anaheim’s clearing attempts and forcing goalie Ville Husso to make some big saves. Eventually, Thompson scored the go-ahead goal directly off a Krebs faceoff win.
That line stayed on the ice, and he completed the hat trick just 15 seconds later. Krebs lost the faceoff but retrieved the puck, and Rasmus Dahlin sent Thompson racing in on a breakaway. He beat Husso five-hole, and a handful of hats trickled down from the Anaheim crowd.
“Some games, you get a lot of chances and they all go in for you,” said Thompson, who attempted five total shots. “Felt like tonight was one of those games.”
Ten hat tricks rank second leaguewide since 2021-22, trailing only Auston Matthews’ 11. Only Rick Martin (21) and Gilbert Perreault (18) have more hat tricks in Sabres history. And a couple power-play assists gave Thompson his fourth career five-point game, also among the franchise leaders.
Factor in three points apiece for Krebs (0+3) and Benson (1+2), and it amounted to a dominant night for the top line. They were on the ice together for four Sabres goals, zero Ducks ones, and an 8-2 edge in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
“Tonight, I really wanted to make an impact, really play a good defensive game for those two to shine. And I think I did pretty good at that,” said Krebs, whose three assists included two from the Buffalo zone. “It was nice to get back at center and use my engine in the D zone, get pucks up to those two and just create some offense for them. I wanted to have a big night and show them I can play wherever – and really well.”