Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson expected to return from injury Saturday

The Buffalo Sabres will get Tage Thompson back from his injury-related absence in Saturday’s game against the Calgary Flames, head coach Don Granato confirmed Friday.

Thompson, 25, suffered an upper-body injury in a game against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 28. He briefly played with the injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 1 but left the game partway through and did not return.

The Sabres are slated to host the Flames at KeyBank Centre in Buffalo, NY at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Acquired from the St. Louis Blues in 2018 as part of the Ryan O’Reilly blockbuster deal, Thompson emerged as a top-six center with the Sabres in 2021–22 and has continued on his upward trajectory this season.

The 6’6″, 220-pound forward scored 38 goals and 68 points in 78 games with the Sabres last season. Through 50 games this year, Thompson already has 34 goals and has matched his 68 points from 2021–22.

Last summer, the Sabres signed Thompson to a seven-year contract extension worth $7.14 million per season — which won’t kick in until 2023–24. For this season, the Phoenix, AZ product only costs $1.4 million against the Sabres’ salary cap.

Through 273 career games over six NHL seasons with the Blues and Sabres, Thompson has amassed 90 goals and 171 points to go along with 110 penalty minutes and a -42 rating.

The Sabres currently rank fifth in the NHL’s Atlantic Division with a 26–20–4 record through 50 games this season. Bolstered in large part by Thompson’s breakthrough, the Sabres have a chance to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010.