Hurricane Tage Thompson swept through Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Wednesday. The giant-sized forward had the game of a lifetime, scoring five goals and one assist in a 9-4 Buffalo Sabers win at Columbus.
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From the first twenty, the one who scored 38 goals in 2021-2022 shook the strings behind Elvis Merzlikins four times. In less than 13 minutes, Thompson had amassed five points, he who was also an accomplice of Dylan Cozens’ goal on the power play.
The Phoenix, Arizona, native capped off his night of remarkable work in the middle period by cheating Joonas Korpisalo this time with his swift wrist shot.
It is, oddly enough, Thompson’s second six-point game this season. He terrorized the Detroit Red Wings on Halloween in a 6-3 victory.
Thompson, acquired by the Buffalo Sabers in the trade involving Ryan O’Reilly, has scored 21 goals and 40 points in just 26 games since the start of the campaign.
Despite their outrageous dominance on the board, the Sabers only directed 30 shots towards the opposing net. Merzlikins conceded six goals on 21 attempts, while Korpisalo allowed three goals on nine shots.
Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch contributed to the massacre by each scoring a goal. The latter shone in the shadow of Thompson, with a harvest of four points.
Patrik Laine and Gustav Nyquist saved the honor of the Blue Jackets by each scoring twice.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen recorded the easiest victory of his career by stopping 20 pucks.
Capitals win in Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, the Washington Capitals were hot, but they still managed to save themselves with a 4-1 victory.
Decimated by injuries, the “Caps” were slow to take off.
Kevin Hayes scored in the first period, before seeing TJ Oshie respond with a one-timer on the power play in the second period.
Dylan Strome then redirected teammate John Carlson’s shot from the blue line to score the winning goal.
Late in the third period, Alexander Ovechkin took advantage of an empty net twice to score his 794th and 795th career goals. Ovechkin is now six goals away from joining Gordie Howe for second in Bettman league scoring.
Character in the Flames
In Calgary, the Flames erased a two-goal deficit by scoring three unanswered goals in the second period to earn a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Kirill Kaprizov and Mason Shaw both hit the target in the first three minutes of the game.
Darryl Sutter’s troops, however, showed character in the second period. Nazem Kadri set the tone in the sixteenth second and teammates Blake Coleman and Tyler Toffoli both eluded the vigilance of Marc-André Fleury in the first five minutes of the engagement.
Jon Merill tied the score in the third period, but Rasmus Andersson responded with the game-winning goal 12 seconds later. Toffoli completed the job in an empty cage late in the game, scoring his second goal of the game, his 10th goal of the season.
Bruins shut out defending champions
While in Denver, the Boston Bruins muzzled the Colorado Avalanche to sign a 4-0 victory.
This is the 21st victory in 25 games this season for the formation of the State of Massachusetts which sits at the top of the Atlantic Division.
Linus Ullmark stood in front of 23 shots to earn the shutout, his second of the campaign and sixth of his career. In the win, forward Taylor Hall scored two goals and added an assist.
The Bruins travel to Arizona to face the Coyotes there on Friday.