Craig Anderson made 40 saves, and the Buffalo Sabres exploded with six third-period goals in a 6–0 shutout of the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
The game was scoreless until Tage Thompson’s power-play marker at 1:21 of the third period. That tally opened the floodgates for the 14th six-goal period in Sabres history, and the second such outburst within the last week. Buffalo also had six goals in the first period of its 9–4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 7.
Thompson had two goals and an assist, and Dylan Cozens recorded three assists. In other multi-point performances, Victor Olofsson and Alex Tuch each collected a goal and an assist and Rasmus Asplund had two assists.
Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka scored Buffalo’s other two goals.
Buffalo ended a two-game (0–1–1) winless streak with its first shutout of the season, and Anderson’s first shutout in three seasons. Anderson’s last shutout was on March 26, 2019, when the veteran goalie was a member of the Ottawa Senators.
The Kings are 1–2–1 in their last four games, with their only two shutout losses of the season coming during this stretch.
Los Angeles outshot the Sabres by a 40–31 margin, including a lopsided 16–3 advantage in the first period. However, Anderson held steady against the pressure, with nine of his 40 saves coming during the Kings’ three unsuccessful power-play attempts.
The Sabres were 3–for–6 on the power play, continuing the team’s season-long success with the extra attacker. Buffalo entered the game fourth in the NHL in power-play percentage.
Thompson is among the NHL’s leaders in goals (23) and points (44). Tuesday marked the sixth time this season that Thompson has recorded at least three points in a game.
Pheonix Copley stopped 25 of 31 shots. The Los Angeles netminder was looking solid for much of the game, until the short-handed play and the Sabres’ pressure finally caught up to the Kings.
