BUFFALO – Following a freak collision with Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in overtime last Thursday, Sabres center Josh Norris said he did not want to leave the game.
But Norris, 27, had no choice. So as his teammates finished off their come-from-behind 5-4 victory in Toronto, he was in concussion protocol.
“It was just a small thing,” Norris told the Times Herald prior to Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers in KeyBank Center. “… Everything is fine.”
Norris, who has a history of injuries, quickly cleared protocol and practiced Friday. He refused to let what he called “a weird play” make him tepid for Saturday’s road game against the Montreal Canadiens.
“I wasn’t fazed,” he said. “I was just a little angry and pissed off and wanted to have a good game.”
On Saturday, Norris enjoyed his best game this season, scoring his second goal by crashing the net and pumping a season-high four shots on goal.
“There’s a physical element to being inside that you have to pay the price,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think he’s really trying to make a difference when it comes to that.”
Norris said he was “just trying to be hard to play against.”
“I thought I was skating and winning battles,” said Norris, who missed the net on a scoring chance in overtime, leading to Cole Caufield’s breakaway winner.
Following a slow start, Norris, who has a $7.95 million salary cap hit, has started to find a groove, scoring in two of the last three games entering Wednesday’s contest.
Last week, Ruff briefly shifted him to the fourth line.
“Last game, I thought he skated well inside, I thought puck battles were good,” Ruff said. “He looked comfortable with the puck. He’s starting to look like the guy that can make a difference every game.”
To be a difference-maker, Norris knows he must display grit to complement his skill.
“I’ve been playing better,” he said. “I think just keeping it simple, honestly. Just being harder to play against and getting my legs going. I think when I’m skating, that’s a big part of my game, and just staying on pucks, staying in battles. Really just small things, honestly.
“Going back to the drawing board. Obviously, I was just trying to find my game there for a bit.”
Norris began Wednesday’s game pivoting winger Jason Zucker, his linemate late last season, and rookie Konsta Helenius.
Zucker, 34, made his season debut after undergoing sports hernia surgery in early August. To make room for the veteran on the 23-man roster, the Sabres placed forward Sam Carrick (mid body) on injured reserve.
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Early in his tenure in Buffalo, the idea of Tage Thompson someday taking his place among some of the Sabres’ all-time greats seemed ludicrous.
In 104 games over his first three years, he scored just 15 goals.
But Thompson matured rapidly after former Sabres coach Don Granato switched him from wing to center five years ago.
Today, he ranks among the NHL’s elite scorers.
Entering Wednesday’s contest, in 393 games since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Thompson had scored a whopping 203 goals, the league’s seventh-highest total during that stretch.
On Saturday, his fifth goal this season and 218th with the Sabres, a late game-tying score, moved him into 10th place on the franchise’s all-time list past Jason Pominville.
Thompson, who these days moves between center and wing, trails Rene Robert by four goals for ninth place. Thompson said he did not know he moved into ninth place until after the game.
“There’s a lot of amazing players who are on that list, a lot of cool names to be associated with,” he said. “Also, just a testament to how long I’ve been here, and a pretty cool reminder for me just how my journey started here.
“To get to the point I am now, all the work and sacrifice that’s gone into it. So it’s a rewarding feeling.”
Thompson will almost certainly keep moving up the list this season.
He has averaged 40 goals over the last five seasons.
The Sabres’ all-time top-10 goal-scorers list is below.
1. Gilbert Perreault, 512 goals
2. Rick Martin, 382 goals
3. Dave Andreychuk, 368 goals
4. Danny Gare, 267 goals
5. Thomas Vanek, 254 goals
6. Craig Ramsay, 252 goals
7. Mike Foligno, 247 goals
8. Miroslav Satan, 224 goals
9. Robert, 222 goals
10. Thompson, 218 goals
Notes: Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin played Wednesday after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … The Sabres also scratched defenseman Dennis Gilbert (healthy) and forwards Justin Danforth (upper body) and Tyler Kozak (healthy). Ruff said Carrick and Danforth are both day to day. … The Sabres have reassigned goalie prospect Topias Leinonen from the Rochester Americans to the Idaho Steelheads, an ECHL team. Leinonen recently joined the Amerks after recovering from an offseason injury. … The Amerks have announced former coach John Tortorella and former defenseman and assistant coach Nathan Paetsch former coach John Tortorella will be inducted team’s hall of fame Dec. 5.