The Quest For 40 Goals For One Buffalo Sabres Player

There is only four games left in the Buffalo Sabres 2021-2022 regular season. That means just four more games before the Sabres take the ice for training camp in September.

While the postseason won’t happen, Sabres fans are happy they finally have a team to cherish again. This is easily the most likable team of the drought, or at least since the likes of Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville were still on the roster.

Jeff Skinner came back to life this season under head coach Don Granato. Skinner has 31 goals and 58 points in 76 games. It’s his best season since the 2018-2019 campaign when he scored 40 goals.

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Skinner is the last Sabres forward to score 40 goals in one season and the only Sabres forward to do so since Thomas Vanek in 2009.

That could change this season though. That’s because the Sabres breakthrough star forward is closing in on the mark.

Tage Thompson has 36 goals in 74 games this season and has been red hot since the New Year. He only has four games to get four goals but considering his games against the Flyers this past weekend, it’s certainly not out of the question.

Thompson was a part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade with the St. Louis Blues in 2018. Sabres fans criticized the trade until this season, as Thompson’s potential has finally been realized in a huge way.

This reminds me of when Tim Connolly was traded to Buffalo in 2001 as part of the Michael Peca trade. Connolly took heat from fans for his first two seasons, improved in 2003-2004 and then became a top flight scorer in 2005-2006.