Top-2: Tage Thompson scores four goals in Sabres win

There was only one game in the entire National Hockey League yesterday, which is rather odd for a Friday night.

There wasn’t much action to get excited about in the NHL, as the Buffalo Sabres hosted the New Jersey Devils.

However, both teams are still in the playoff hunt in the East, which made this game all the more important.

1. The Tage Thompson “show

An important match means a star player.

Generally speaking, when a team plays an important game, it hopes that its best players – its star players – will step up, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.

Fortunately for the Sabres, last night their star player, Tage Thompson, rose to the occasion, scoring four goals in a 5-2 Sabres victory.

Tage was on another planet.

He put up four including a natural hat trick in a 5-2 @BuffaloSabres victory!

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/xCdXW6A9nm

– NHL (@NHL) March 30, 2024

His fourth goal was scored in an empty net.

It’s a sixth career hat trick with the Sabres for Thompson.

Tage Thompson recorded his sixth career hat trick and second career four-goal game to help the @BuffaloSabres skate to victory.#NHLStats: https://t.co/fHiQxQQ0x7 pic.twitter.com/se9gdiugkJ

– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 30, 2024

This is the second time the Sabres forward has scored four goals, putting him in very good company.

Tage Thompson became the fourth active player with multiple four-goal games, joining Alex Ovechkin (4x), Anze Kopitar (2x) and Nathan MacKinnon (2x).#NHLStats: https://t.co/fHiQxQQ0x7 pic.twitter.com/3adc4IJB6F

– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 30, 2024

In short, Thompson has exploded at just the right time for his team, despite the fact that he’s having a rather disappointing season compared to the standards he’s set over the past two seasons.

His 49 points (26 goals and 23 assists) in 63 games are a far cry from his 94 points (47 goals and 47 assists) in 78 games last season.

2. Tij Iginla scores hat trick in first career playoff game

The playoffs have begun in the various junior hockey leagues, and yesterday saw eight playoff games in the WHL.

The most memorable of these games was the hat trick of top prospect Tij Iginla.

Jarome Iginla’s son, playing in his first career WHL playoff game, scored three goals in two periods to give his team a 5-2 lead.

Regular season. Playoffs. It doesn’t matter. Tij Iginla is going to put on a show.

3 goals through 2 periods of the series opener.

pic.twitter.com/XzciBsXUnO

– Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) March 30, 2024

Despite this, the Kelowna Rockets lost the game 8-6 to the Wenatchee Wild.

Iginla and his team trail 1-0 in this first-round series.

To see all the goals from Game 1, click here.