BUFFALO – 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, said he believes his players had some added incentive to live up to what they were hearing and seeing.

Fittingly, with 18 members of that 2005-06 team in attendance Thursday, the Sabres gave a performance reminiscent of that rollicking squad, beating the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 before a raucous capacity crowd of 19,070 fans in KeyBank Center.

Just like that team 20 years ago, the current group, having won 15 of its last 17 games, has become the darling of the NHL.

In a stirring pregame video before the entertaining affair – Thompson enjoyed one of the best outings of his career, scoring three goals and five points – former co-captain Daniel Briere talked about how that close-knit 2005-06 team came together.

“I really think our team has come together like that,” Ruff said. “We’ve become a real tight group. Everybody is all in and everybody is for each other.”

Ruff used the shot winger Jason Zucker’s blocked late in the game to illustrate his point.

“I think one of the biggest examples was Zucker going down blocking that shot late,” Ruff said. “Blocking shots is not a thing that is easy to do. And he laid it on a line to make sure that they weren’t going to get another opportunity.”

Thompson’s dynamic exploits moved the Sabres, who own the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, to within three points of their Atlantic Division rival.

His go-ahead goal 5:12 into the third period held up as the winner, and he scored into an empty net for his ninth career hat trick.

“He was feeling it tonight, holding onto pucks, making the right plays,” said Sabres winger Alex Tuch, who goal 8:55 into the second period tied the game at 3.

Thompson experienced some success earlier in his career the Sabres couldn’t sustain.

A 10-game winning streak in his first year here. A season in 2022-23 that ended just a win shy of the elusive playoff berth.

The Sabres never built on any of that, and they regressed.

However, Thompson believes what the Sabres have accomplished over the last five weeks will last.

“There’s nothing that beats winning,” he said. “This is the most fun I think I’ve had here my entire career. We’ve got something really good going, and it doesn’t feel fabricated. It feels real, and I think everyone in the room believes it as well.”

The Sabres’ recent response to adversity – after losses and within games – tells Ruff they’re enjoying something special.

After their 10-game win streak ended, they rattled off three straight victories. Since Monday’s loss, they won their last two games.

In Thursday’s win, they erased two deficits, getting an early power-play goal from Thompson. After winger Josh Doan’s power-play goal put the Sabres up, the Canadiens went up 3-2.

“We started 1-0, we handed them a goal, Ruff said. “We fought back, it got 3-2, we fought back. And I think that ability to keep getting back in the game is a great quality.

“Just take it one game at a time, we don’t need to say whether it’s real or not real.”

What’s real is Thompson’s place as one of the NHL’s elite scorers. His second goal marked his 200th NHL score.

That goal and every other one Thursday ignited the crowd.

“It’s been awesome,” Thompson said of the recent atmosphere in the rink. “It does make a difference for us when you’re out there, and we’ve got a one-goal game there in the third, and the place is going nuts the entire third.

“I mean, we’ve been on the other side of it, where you go into buildings and you’re chasing a game and the crowd is just into it, it just defeats you.”