Sabres' Tage Thompson, Rasmus Asplund to face Golden Knights 

The Sabres are getting two big pieces back for Tuesday night’s tough tilt against the Vegas Golden Knights, as Buffalo tweeted before game time that forwards Tage Thompson and Rasmus Asplund are ready to return to the lineup.

Thompson missed Buffalo's last game, a 4-1 loss to Colorado, with an undisclosed injury that he sustained the night before in Arizona. Asplund was placed in COVID protocol, rendering him unavailable for the games against Arizona and Colorado.

One of the best stories in Buffalo this season is Thompson, who’s made the leap to potentially a true top-nine piece as the Sabres build down the line after he was shifted to center by head coach Don Granato. He’s second on the Sabres with 14 goals and has 29 points in 40 games. He’ll center the top line Tuesday night between two players looking to have revenge games in Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch.

Asplund, a second-round selection in 2016, has also now made the leap to full-time NHLer. He’s been a good two-way presence in the Sabres' bottom six, and he’s registered a respectable 16 points in 42 games (a 31-point pace).