The Buffalo Sabres came out flying. More specifically, Tage Thompson did.
While no one probably expected a Wednesday night road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets to be one that would be remembered by the end of the season, it sure will be now.
A four-goal first period isn’t something we see very often in the NHL. In fact, it’s only actually happened during the regular season four times in the last 101 years. But, Thompson decided to make history Wednesday, doing so for the first time in 28 years, while also becoming the second fastest to score that many goals within a game.
And to make the feat even more impressive somehow, he’s just the seventh player in league history to record five points in the first period.
The Sabres ultimately closed out the period scoring six goals, with Thompson having a hand in all but one. His four goals and an assist in the first 20 unsurprisingly resulted in most of the hockey world losing their minds.
Here’s a glimpse at some of the reactions to Thompson’s insane four-goal, five-point first period effort.
However, Thompson’s fun didn’t have to end there.
With less than four minutes to go in the second, the 25-year-old forward netted his fifth goal (and sixth point) of the night.
Thompson’s fifth added his name to yet another history book on the night, as he became the second Sabre in franchise history to record five goals in a game.
And of course, the ensuing reactions continued to be those of disbelief and amazement.