Tage Thompson takes care of the Habs all by himself

Michaël Petit
Tage Thompson takes care of the Habs all by himself
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

On this Wednesday evening, the Montreal Canadiens paid a visit to the Buffalo Sabres (although it seemsthere are more red jerseys in the stands).

As we know, Jacob Fowler was in net for the Habs, while Kaiden Guhle was back in the lineup. Jayden Struble was scooped up for Guhle's return.

Here's the Habs lineup for the game:

The game was Fowler's 10th career start.

Martin St-Louis' team had a big challenge ahead of them, as the Buffalo Sabres are on fire these days.

They're giving up almost no goals these days, with an excellent defensive brigade and Tage Thompson who's been very good this season, averaging close to a point a game.

It didn't take long for a team to open the scoring.

Cole Caufield ended his four-game goal drought, mentioned by Pierre Houde on RDS seconds before his goal.

Unfortunately for the Habs, Lane Hutson took a penalty moments after the goal, which led to Tage Thompson's tying goal.

And a few minutes later, Kaiden Guhle took a penalty, which again led to a Sabres goal.

What a goal from Josh Doan, just inside Fowler's half-circle.

Decidedly, it looked like a game where both teams were very undisciplined.

The Sabres took two quick penalties, giving the Habs a five-on-three.

The MSL team had no intention of squandering such an opportunity, and Ivan Demidov fired a cannonball in from a tight angle. Lane Hutson got the 100th assist of his young career.

What a shot.

After 20 minutes of play, the score was 2-2.

The massive forward can change everything in a game, and in this match, both teams are making the most of the opportunities presented to them.

Shortly after the start of the 2nd period, the Habs took advantage of another powerplay to regain the lead.

Nick Suzuki was clearly very relieved to have threaded the needle for the first time in his last eight games.

Hutson picked up another assist, while Cole Caufield picked up his second point of the game.

However, the Sabres managed to tie the game just over five minutes after Suzuki's goal.

Moments later, Jason Zucker was forced to leave for the dressing room after what appeared to be an accidental collision with Arber Xhekaj.

The rest of the second period was quieter (especially on the indiscipline front), but both teams still had good chances.

The score was 3-3 at the end of the second.

Although he's playing very well, Fowler can't do everything, especially not against Tage Thompson's shot. He needs help in front of him, and limiting Thompson must always be a priority when facing the Sabres.

First, Phillip Danault created a turnover and Lane Hutson couldn't control the loose puck, leading to Thompson's 200th career goal.

It was the giant-sized American center's fourth point of the game.

Moments later, Brendan Gallagher and Jordan Greenway got into it. We know that the Habs' little warrior will never back down from anyone, and Greenway took the bait. The result was a four-on-four.

However, Oliver Kapanen took a penalty to give the Sabres a four-on-three.

Really, both teams are very undisciplined in this game and the coaches won't like it much.

With about two minutes left in the game, Martin St-Louis pulled the goalie for a sixth player, and what had to happen, happened… Tage Thompson completed his hat trick in an empty net, collecting his fifth point of the game.

Final score: 5-3 Sabres.

The Habs play their next game on Saturday night, when they visit the Ottawa Senators.


Extended

– On his 100th career pass, Lane Hutson became the second-fastest defenseman in history to reach this plateau, behind Sergei Zubov.

– With his first-period goal, Ivan Demidov reached the 40-point plateau this season. As a result, the Habs became the first NHL team to have four players with 40 points or more this season.

– Sammy Blais was pretty invisible in the game, as was Arber Xhekaj. The Québécois was used for less than eight minutes in the game, while Xhekaj spent just over 10 minutes on the ice. The colossal defenseman did deliver six body checks, while Blais delivered four despite very limited playing time.

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