Leo Carlsson’s week was the kind that turns heads fast.
The Anaheim Ducks center was named the NHL’s third star for the week ending Nov. 1 after piling up eight points in three games, including a league-best seven assists. Carlsson helped the Ducks go 1-1-1 over that stretch, and he kept stacking production from one night to the next.
He opened the week with a goal and an assist in Anaheim’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 27.
Two nights later, he delivered three assists in a 7-6 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, then followed that with another three-point night in a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 1.
That marked the first time in his NHL career that he posted three points in back-to-back games.
Carlsson, 21, has now recorded multiple points in each of his last four appearances dating to Oct. 24, when he put up 10 points over that span. Through 14 games this season, he leads Anaheim and ranks 11th in the NHL with 4-17-21. His 17 assists are third in the league, trailing only Connor McDavid’s 30 and Evan Bouchard’s 18.
The week’s top spot went to Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson, who put together a monster road trip through California. Thompson led the NHL with 5-3-8 in three games as Buffalo went a perfect 3-0 and improved to 4-1-3 on the road this season.
He started by assisting on the insurance goal in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 27.
Then came the big one: Thompson scored three goals and added two assists in a 7-6 win against the Ducks on Oct. 29, recording his 10th career hat trick, his third career natural hat trick, and his fourth career five-point game. He finished the trip with two more goals in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 31, including his 26th career game-winner.
Thompson, 29, is tied for sixth in the NHL with 10 goals and leads Buffalo with 17 points through 14 games this season. Since joining the Sabres on July 1, 2018, his 223 goals rank ninth in franchise history. He also has 10 hat tricks for Buffalo, a total topped only by Rick Martin’s 21 and Gilbert Perreault’s 18.
The second star was Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry, who went 2-0-1 in three appearances and closed the week with back-to-back shutouts. Jarry posted a 0.97 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage as Edmonton moved into first place in the Western Conference.
He made 25 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 26, then rebounded with consecutive shutouts for the third time in his career and first since Nov. 18-20, 2021 with Pittsburgh. Jarry stopped 24 shots in a 4-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Oct. 28 and then turned aside 18 in a 4-0 victory against the New York Islanders on Oct. 31.
The 31-year-old has helped Edmonton collect points in six of his seven starts this season. He is 4-1-2 with a 2.53 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage and two shutouts.
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