Tage Thompson had three goals and two assists as the Sabres beat the Ducks 7-6 on Thursday night at Honda Center, a game in which Buffalo scored six consecutive goals, per the AP. Zach Benson added a goal and two assists. Sportsnet's highlight summary also credits Peyton Krebs with three assists, and the box score agrees.

The AP noted that it was Thompson's 10th career hat trick, which ties him with Alexander Mogilny and Danny Gare for third-most in Sabres history. Deadspin called it a natural hat trick and said the visitors rallied. The AP and ESPN summaries we have don't use either description, so we can't confirm from the reporting whether the goals came consecutively.

The box score shows how open the game was. Buffalo led 3-3 on the scoreboard after one period only in the sense of a tie: both teams scored three. The Sabres then won the second period 2-0 and the third 2-3 on the line score. Thompson took four shots and played 17:49. Benson finished plus-3 and Krebs plus-3. Rasmus Dahlin had two assists in 26:00. For Anaheim, Cutter Gauthier scored twice on 10 shots, and Leo Carlsson had three assists.

Special teams were busy. Anaheim went 3 for 4 on the power play and Buffalo 2 for 3. Anaheim also gave the puck away 21 times to Buffalo's 13, and lost the shot count only the other way, 35-31. Ville Husso allowed seven goals on 31 shots in 53:34 in the Ducks' net. Colten Ellis stopped 29 of 35 for the Sabres.

Thompson's night accounts for half of his season total. He is at 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points, with 4 penalty minutes. Benson is at 8 points, but only one of them is a goal. Buffalo is 6-4, eighth in the Atlantic, and has won two straight. The previous win was a 2-0 shutout at San Jose on Tuesday, and before that came a 4-3 loss at Washington.

The loss leaves Anaheim at 5-7, fifth in the Pacific, and one-goal losses are becoming a pattern. The Ducks lost 6-5 to Vancouver on Tuesday, and before that they beat Philadelphia 5-4. They host Ottawa on Sunday.

The Sabres stay on the road, at Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 31, the second game of their trip.