Is Tage Thompson injured or just really cold for the Sabres? His interesting answer

Tage Thompson was an absolute ice demon during the regular season for the surprising Buffalo Sabres . Across an ironman 81 in 82 appearances, the 28-year-old, nine-year veteran did it all. Thompson had a 40-goal, 81-point season while leading the Sabers' top line as a tenacious, skillful presence.

It was his third campaign where he scored at least 40 goals and his second with at least 80 points. The Sabres' turnaround into Stanley Cup contender does not happen without his elite consistency. Full stop.

That's why it's so jarring to see Thompson somewhat struggle for the Sabres in their first playoff run in 14 years. At the time of this writing, Thompson has just three goals and eight total points for the Sabres in nine games, including Sunday's Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens on the road. Technically, that's a point per game, which is great playoff production.

But Thompson isn't scoring at his usual rate, having scored just three goals in nine games so far. With the Sabres scoring two or fewer goals in three games, or 33 percent of their postseason run to this point, Thompson's relative struggles as the team's leading scorer are more glaring. Thompson was asked whether he had an undisclosed injury hampering him during his recent stretch of play.