Already affected by an upper-body injury, Buffalo Sabers forward Tage Thompson left the game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night. At KeyBank Arena, the visitors added insult to injury by winning 5-1.
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The Sabers said in the third period that the giant right winger had retired to the locker room because of an upper body glitch, without specifying if it was the same ailment that had forced him to miss the session. Monday training.
Thompson could thus have to give up on the all-star game this weekend, he who is the only representative of Buffalo. The 25-year-old American is having a dream season with 68 points in 50 games.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the spark plug for the Hurricanes with two assists. The former Montreal Canadiens was complicit in first-period goals from Stefan Noesen and Brent Burns. Back to the goalkeeper, the Finn served a superb blind pass to the big defender, who supported the attack.
Sebastian Aho, Derek Stepan and Jordan Martinook also shook the ropes for Carolina, while Alex Tuch provided the Sabers with a wrist shot.
The “Canes” reach the All-Star Game break with a seven-game winning streak. They remain firmly anchored in first place in the Metropolitan section with 76 points.