Tage Thompson scored his 30th goal in his last 30 games as the Buffalo Sabers defeated the Minnesota Wild 6-5 in overtime on Saturday.
Victor Olofsson played heroes in overtime by scoring his second goal of the game. The two teams exchanged several scoring chances before seeing Olofsson end the game with 19 seconds to go.
It was also the same Olofsson who opened the scoring in the first period. Forgotten in the right circle, he easily beat Marc-André Fleury after a brilliant pass from Casey Mittelstadt.
In goal, Fleury yielded six times to the Sabres’ 37 shots. After the game, Fleury was in a frenzy, according to The Athletic team reporter Michael Russo. According to Russo, Fleury is currently going through a difficult time on a personal level and he will be absent from the team until Tuesday.
Brandon Duhaime and Kirill Kaprizov put the Wild ahead with two goals early in the middle frame. However, Thompson used his favorite weapon to tie the game: the one-timer. During a power play, the Sabers forward fired a powerful shot from the left circle that left no chance for Fleury. After scoring one goal in his first seven games of the season, Thompson has now scored 30 goals in his last 30 games.
Rasmus Dahlin, twice, and Dylan Cozens were the other scorers in the Sabers camp. Dahlin had a strong game with two goals and three assists. Dahlin becomes the eighth active defenseman to have five or more points in a game, the first since Matt Grzelcyk on Jan. 10, 2022.
Mittelstadt was also solid with three assists, as Cozens also added an assist on his 13th goal of the season.
In addition to Duhaime and Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek hit the mark for the Wild, who had won their last two games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen signed the victory with a performance of 39 saves.
Marner hits 500-point plateau in Leafs win
Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist to reach 500 NHL career points as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Saturday night.
Marner hit the mark in his 467th career game, just four days after Auston Matthews achieved the feat. Matthews reached that milestone in 445 games, which is a record for a Maple Leafs player.
John Tavares, twice, and Pontus Holmberg also threaded the needle for the Torontonians, who snapped a two-game losing streak to earn their first win of 2023.
Ilya Samsonov stopped 22 pucks to regroup after allowing five goals in a Maple Leafs loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
Jake Walman was the lone scorer for the Red Wings, who suffered a third straight loss. Magnus Hellberg blocked 25 of the 28 shots he faced.
Pastrnak brace leads Bruins to victory
SAN JOSE, Calif. _ David Pastrnak scored twice as the Boston Bruins won 4-2 against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists while Craig Smith added a goal for the Bruins. Linus Ullmark made 26 saves to record a 22nd win this season.
Logan Couture and Mario Ferraro replied for the Sharks. James Reimer finished the game with 25 saves.
Veteran Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson was cleared of the scoresheet, ending his 14-game streak with at least one point.
Marchand’s goal came after just 63 seconds of play. The Bruins forward also picked up at least one point in a fifth straight game.
Sharks defensemen Matt Benning and Marc-Édouard Vlasic as well as forward Alexander Barabanov all had one assist, bringing their streak to four with at least one point.
Fiala takes care of the Knights
LAS VEGAS — Kevin Fiala scored a hat trick for the Los Angeles Kings in a 5-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
It was the first game of more than one bit for Fiala with Los Angeles.
Matt Roy and Viktor Arvidsson also scored, and Gabriel Vilardi had three assists for the Kings (23-14-6), who had lost two of their last three games. Pheonix Copley made 19 saves.
Jonathan Marchessault scored on his return to action after missing the last six games with a lower-body injury. The Golden Knights (27-13-2) had won three straight games.
Logan Thompson allowed three goals on 19 shots before being replaced early in the third period by Adin Hill, who made two saves.
