As the reunion of the 2005-06 Sabres approached, center Tage Thompson and the current group of players learned plenty about what that beloved team so unique and special. So Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who also led that team 20 years ago,

Tage Thompson scored a hat trick that included his 200th career goal to punctuate a five-point night and lead the Sabres to a 5-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in front of a full crowd indulging in the aura of one of Buffalo’s most memorable hockey seasons.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres square off in Eastern Conference action. New York has a 5-10-4 record in home games and a 20-18-6 record overall. The Rangers are 17-2-1 when scoring at least three goals. Buffalo is 22-15-4 overall and 9-10-2 in road games. The Sabres have a 20-3-3 record when scoring at least three goals.

And what matters most to Dahlin is that he’s contributing to wins. The Sabres have now won 14 of their past 16 games and are sitting in a wild-card position with a .600 points percentage. And they get another big game in the standings when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Ask anyone who played on that 2005-2006 Buffalo Sabres squad, and they’ll tell you, there was still meat left on the bone.

Two teams in the top half of the Eastern Conference standings square off when the Buffalo Sabres (25-16-4, sixth in conference) host the Montreal Canadiens (26-14-7, fourth) at KeyBank Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Buffalo secured a 5-2 home victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in its last game on Jan. 14.

Tage Thompson scored a hat trick that included his 200th career goal to punctuate a five-point night and lead the Sabres to a 5-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in front of a full crowd indulging in the aura of one of Buffalo’s most memorable hockey seasons.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.