Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby set the example against the Columbus Blue Jackets by scoring 16. career hat trick in Tuesday night’s 5-3 win at Nationwide Arena.
There, the 36-year-old striker scored his last hat-trick, on January 21, 2022. Now he has 13 in the regular season, which is the same as his teammate Evgeniy Malkin’s in third place among active players.
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Crosby scored in his ninth straight game and the Penguins won their fifth straight game. It was in an empty net that number 87 secured victory for his team, five minutes after a 4-3 lead.
Jake Guentzel and Erik Karlsson also scored, while the Jackets responded with Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov and Alexandre Texier.
Knights cleared
In Washington, the Vegas Golden Knights suffered a shutout for the first time since February 27, drawing Charlie Lindgren and the Capitals.
The former Montreal Canadiens goaltender made 35 saves to shut out the Knights in a 3-0 victory. The reigning Stanley Cup champions will also face the Habs next Thursday.
After scoring two goals on Saturday, Alexander Ovechkin let his teammates shine. Dylan Strome scored at the end of the first quarter and we had to wait until the last minute of the game to see the ropes shake again. Connor McMichael scored into an empty net, then Beck Malenstyn surprised Logan Thompson with a great trick on the break.
This is just Vegas’ third regular-time loss in 16 games this season.
Tough game for Thompson
In Buffalo, another Thompson, Tage, was not spared in the game, which was won 5 to 2 by the Boston Bruins.
It appears that the Sabers forward had not one, but two injuries. Kolos first left the ice with difficulty after being tripped by Charlie McAvoy. After getting rid of the pain, he returned to the ice and injured himself while blocking a shot with his wrist.
This time, Thompson did not make a new appearance on the team’s bench. This could be a big loss for the Sabres, who may have to be without their third leading scorer. The American collected 12 points, including six goals, in 16 games.
Danton Heinen, Brandon Carlo, Oskar Steen and Hampus Lindholm lit up the lantern for the first time in 2023-2024. David Pastrnak also scored and added two assists.
For the Sabres, Victor Olofsson scored his first two goals of the campaign.
