Thursday LNN: Marie-Philip Poulin Honoured, Tage Thompson Continues to Dazzle, Shane Wright Scores His First and More

We have passed the quarter mark of the season and while it’s not quite the start we’d envisioned for the local heroes, it has been an interesting and entertaining season so far overall. Another week, another trip around across the hockey world:

• Marie-Philip Poulin has earned the respect and admiration of hockey fans everywhere. She has been a force ever since she entered the spotlight and hasn’t stopped amazing everyone with her hard work and pure skill. Finally, after all these years she is getting the recognition she deserves: Poulin became the first female hockey player to win the Northern Star Award, formerly the Lou Marsh given annually to Canada’s top athlete. Considering the history of Women’s hockey and all those who came before her, it really is surprising that she would be the first female hockey player to win the prestigious award but it’s a promising sign of the future to come.
• Tage Thompson is having a season he will never forget. He seems like an almost even bet to get on the scoreboard virtually every Sabres game but last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets got the deluxe performance from Thompson as he scored 4 goals in the first period alone — tying the NHL record for most goals in a period. He ended the game with 5 goals and an assist as the Sabres routed the Jackets 9-4./

• While the Seattle Kraken had a miserable outing against the Montreal Canadiens, Shane Wright had a poetic moment as he scored his first NHL goal against the team that was supposed to make him the first-overall pick. The Kraken lost 4-2 to the Habs, but Wright must feel good to get his first NHL goal and particularly against the team he now probably hates the most./

• The Vegas Golden Knights will be without Alex Pietrangelo indefinitely as he deals with a family matter. The Golden Knights are currently first in the Pacific but missing one of their key defensemen will certainly have an impact. Our thoughts are with the Pietrangelo family and we wish them well with whatever challenges they are going through. The Golden Knights are also missing their leading scorer, Jack Eichel who has already missed two games with a lower-body injury.
• The Colorado Avalanche will be without their star Nathan MacKinnon for 4 weeks as he recovers from an upper-body injury. The Avalanche have also been without their Captain Gabriel Landeskog all season as he recovers from knee surgery. The Cup champions are in a Wild card spot now but as the injuries pile up, you have to wonder if they’ll be digging themselves in a dangerous hole in the standings.
• Jesse Puljujärvi is having another struggling season and it seems it’s affecting his confidence. In an interview in Finland, he questioned whether he was built for the NHL. At 24 years old, Puljujärvi still has a lot of time to figure things out but maybe the Oilers need to give him a chance to do that elsewhere?/