TEMPE, Ariz. — The two-month Tage Thompson tour of dominance through every NHL building continued Saturday night in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on the Arizona State campus, and so it’s not like his elite performance during the Buffalo Sabres’ 5-2 win over the Coyotes was any different than many of his offensive eruptions.

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After assisting on Jeff Skinner’s two goals in the first two periods, Thompson scored the tie-breaking, eventual winning goal midway through the third period on a power play for his seventh game of at least three points this season.

This is a guy who’s second in the NHL with 25 goals and third with 49 points, so Sabres coach Don Granato has seen such efforts rinsed and repeated all year.

But what made Saturday night different is that Arizona is where Thompson was born 25 years ago when his dad, Brent, was playing for the Coyotes; where he and his wife, Rachel, spend their offseasons; and where his mom, Kimberly, and all of her extended family is from.

So not only did Thompson arrive absolutely on top of his game and demonstrating his budding star power, but he was also able to show off in front of his mom, who lives in Connecticut but traveled home to attend Saturday’s victory with dozens of family and friends.

“It was very cool to watch,” Granato said. “I know it was a special night, him being here. This is an area dear to his heart. He trains here in the summertime quite a bit and he’s got such a great family, so him to know they were in the building watching him do his stuff, I know it was a big night for him and special moment.”

Thompson lives in Peoria — a half hour from the Coyotes’ new home — after being born in Glendale, where Arizona used to play. But in the summer, Thompson skates and trains with several NHLers, including Arizona’s top dog, Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews.

Unlike Matthews, Thompson never really played hockey in Arizona. He lived in 11 different places as he and family left during the winters to be with Dad wherever he played during his hockey career. But Thompson believes the rise of Arizona-born and bred players, especially good ones, is further proof of hockey’s reach throughout the United States.

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“It’s great for the state to see hockey growing,” he said.

Auston Matthews KNEW Tage Thompson was about to go off. 😤

Who do you think is the most underrated player in the NHL? @Steve_Dangle sat down with some stars from around the league to get their picks.

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 30, 2022

In fact, Thompson, 25, was humbled recently when he saw Matthews tell Sportsnet that he was the league’s most underrated player. You can tell Thompson would always rather talk about the team than his own talents, so he naturally said there’s good reason for last year’s 60-goal scorer selecting him.

“He didn’t have to say that, so when he says that, it means a lot,” Thompson said. “We skate together a little bit in the summer, so he’s seen me the last couple summers. That’s probably why. He’s probably seen more of my game than some other people in the league on a consistent basis (also) because we play against him so much, too.”

The 6-foot-6 Thompson, who skates exceptionally for a big man and can dipsy doodle with the best of them, has 12 goals and 23 points in the past 10 games with 46 shots over that span. Since Oct. 29, Thompson leads the league with 24 goals (four more than Connor McDavid and Jason Robertson) and is second with 46 points (just one less than McDavid). Overall, he’s also third in the NHL with 12 power-play goals and 22 power-play points.

Best yet, after winning seven of their first 10 games, then going eight in a row without a single point, the Sabres are seaming their game back together of late, going 8-3-2 and winning three in a row heading into Monday’s game at Vegas.

That’s what Thompson was mostly happy about after Saturday’s game. In the unique setting that was the Sabres playing in a college rink for his only trip home this season, Thompson’s family not only got to see another strong individual performance from him but also another strong team performance.

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“It’s nice anytime they get to watch me play live,” Thompson said.

Thompson echoed what virtually every player that has played inside Mullett Arena has said: Arizona has the best, fastest ice in the NHL.

It makes sense. Unlike multi-purpose arenas that have to scrape down the ice, cover the ice with boards and turn over their arenas often for concerts, basketball or other events, Mullett Arena’s sheet is reserved solely for hockey.

“Nice and hard, crisp, no bumps,” Thompson said.

He also echoed what lots of players have also said: The building is so small and compact, the fans are so on top of the ice, the ice feels smaller than a normal NHL-sized rink.

It’s not, but it feels that way.

“It definitely feels like guys are on top of you a little quicker,” Thompson said. “But I didn’t think we really let that distract us too much. I think we were in the moment and that’s all you can ask.”

A 2016 first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues, Thompson was part of the vast package acquired by the Sabres that landed the Blues Ryan O’Reilly in advance of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship. Some may have been worried when Thompson scored 15 goals and 26 points in 104 games with the Sabres over his first 104 games, including time spent on Buffalo’s taxi squad when the league returned for the pandemic-shortened season.

That’s no longer the case.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams remembers meeting with Thompson while he was on the taxi squad to reassure the youngster that this was just part of his process.

He told Thompson, “You got to just compete, put the work in, be patient. For me, it was just how do we make sure that we’re not losing him, that we’re showing him love. And then when he gets the opportunity, I know the work ethic and the character he has. So I’m not surprised what he’s doing.”

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Added Adams, “We really feel he’s gonna get better. Like he’s got more levels to go, which is exciting for us.”

Thompson broke out last season with 38 goals and 68 points in 78 games and what’s most impressive is after earning a seven-year, $50 million extension in August that kicks in next season, he hasn’t floundered one iota under the mountain of pressure. In fact, imagine how much money Thompson would cost this summer if Adams didn’t get ahead of it last summer.

Certainly more than his upcoming $7.14 million a year.

“The thing about Tage, he’s had to work to where he is now. He’s earned it,” Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. “There was a lot of gripe about the contract and everything. Not anymore. He wants to be in Buffalo, he wants to be here. It’s a special thing to have a talent like that that’s really blossoming and wants to play here.”

Thompson has overcome a lot of adverse situations both professionally and personally, and he doesn’t take a day for granted playing in the NHL.

And even though it was under odd circumstances in a smallish college rink Saturday night, he doesn’t take for granted getting the chance to show his family and friends in Arizona the player he’s become.

Don’t think for a second that third-period game winner in his home state didn’t make him beam with pride.

“There’s obviously pressure,” Thompson said. “You sign a contract and you want to live up to it. You want to make sure you’re doing what you can to help the team. There’s that little bit of pressure, but that’s something that drives me. That’s something that probably helps my game more than anything else.

“Having the hard work start to pay off, it’s a good feeling. Because it has been (hard). It’s been a tough road and tough journey and a lot of things you had to grind through. So to get to this point now, it’s pretty special.”

(Photo of Tage Thompson celebrating his goal: Joe Camporeale / USA Today)