If you’re not from North America, you’d probably never heard of a hat trick before. In fact, it’s not a common occurrence in hockey. However, when you do finally experience it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
A hat trick in hockey is a special kind of hat-tackling performance. It’s when an offensive player scores three goals in one game. While it may not be common, it does happen from time to time.
To be able to pull off a hat trick, you need to have a good performance. First, you need to score at least three goals, which is no easy task. Next, you need to be able to finish off your opponent’s offensives with a hat trick. Since the start of the 2019-20 NHL campaign, there have been 12 hat tricks scored by NHL players.
We break down the top hat tricks from this year’s NHL season.
The Top Hat Tricks From This Year’s NHL Season
The top hat tricks from the 2019-20 NHL season are listed below. To see the rest of the hat tricks from this year’s NHL season, visit WhoScored.com.
The Ottawa Senators’ seven-game winning streak came to an end when the New Jersey Devils beat them 4-3 in overtime in a battle of the unbeatens. Chris Wideman, who was playing for the Devils in that game, was responsible for all three goals scored by his team. It was the first time this season that the Sens suffered more than one defeat in a game. They also lost two games where they scored only one goal each. During that winning streak, they scored 12 goals and allowed only two, which is a +10 goal differential. At the end of the season, they finished with the most wins and the best goal-differential in the Eastern Conference.
The Winnipeg Jets missed the playoffs for the second straight year. However, their woes lasted only a single game. On November 12, the Jets hosted the Colorado Avalanche in a game that went to extra time. In the 112th minute, Matt Hendricks scored the game-winning goal. The goal was reviewed and confirmed to be the game-winning goal. This was the first ever overtime game-winning goal in Jets’ history. Since then, the team hasn’t looked back, reaching the postseason each year since. This year, they’re one of the top teams in the NHL.
The Dallas Stars got off to a good start this year, winning their first five games. However, they couldn’t maintain that level of play, eventually losing 12 of their next 14 games. On January 22, they played the Chicago Blackhawks in a game that was pretty much a must-win for both teams. The game ended in a 5-5 tie, ensuring both teams would make the playoffs. Since then, the Stars have won just two of their next 14 games, including Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. In that game, they earned one point for each goal scored. The two goals by Jamie Benn and another by Rich Peverley earned them two points, while Radek Fueglich’s goal earned them one point. It was the first time in 12 years that the Stars have had three players reach double digits in points in a game. They’ll need to continue playing well to have any chance at making the postseason.
Facing off against the Anaheim Ducks in one of the regular-season’s most entertaining games, the Philadelphia Flyers finally got the win they needed to avoid an 0-15 start to the season. In a back-and-forth game that saw five goals scored, Jakub Voracek netted the game-tying goal with 37 seconds left in regulation and then won it in overtime with an empty-net goal to secure a 3-2 win for Philadelphia.
The Nashville Predators got off to a slow start this year, losing their first four games before earning a point in their fifth game. However, they went on to win 12 of their next 14 games, including a seven-game winning streak that they stretched into a tie with the Blues over the All-Star break. Since then, the Predators have been one of the best teams in the NHL, currently sitting in second place in the West. They’ll need to keep playing well to keep up with the top teams in the league.
The St. Louis Blues had a rough go of it this year, starting the season 2-7-1 before earning a point in their 12th game. Since then, though, they’ve gone 23-14-3, including an 11-game winning streak that they stretched into a tie with the Predators over the All-Star break. In their last game before the break, they beat the Nashville Predators 4-2, extending their winning streak to seven games and giving them some hope of making the playoffs. Unfortunately, their season came to an end on the weekend, thanks to a tiebreaker win by the Minnesota Wild.
The Anaheim Ducks got off to a slow start this year, winning just three of their first 10 games. However, the poor form lasted only until late November, when they went on a four-game winning streak that saw them rise up the standings. Since then, the Ducks have been one of the most unpredictable teams in the league. While they’re still technically in the playoff race, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether or not they’ll make it. In Friday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks, they suffered a shocking 5-1 defeat, matching their worst loss this year. Overall, they’re not playing well at all and will need to regroup before the end of the season.
The Los Angeles Kings won their second Pacific Division title and will be headed to the playoffs for the 11th straight year. They started the season 1-7-1 but have gone 14-3-1 since then, including a 9-game winning streak that they capped with a 5-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in their most recent game. The Kings have been one of the best teams in the NHL this year, not dropping a single one of their 54 games. With only one defeat in their last 11 games, it’s clear that the Kings are playing some of their best hockey in years. They’ve got an excellent shot at making the playoffs yet again.
The New York Rangers’ 2017-18 season looks like a complete disaster so far, as they’ve lost their first four games. However, that hasn’t stopped them from having one of the league’s best offensive units. The Rangers are averaging four goals per game so far, which is good for fourth place in the NHL. In their most recent game, they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2, extending their winning streak to five games. The offense has been so prolific that, in their last game before the All-Star break, they had only 16 skaters on the ice while playing against the Washington Capitals, as they were using all of their defensemen. Needless to say, coach David Quinn has some work to do to get this team playing well together. Still, it’s too soon to write off this iteration of the Blueshirts.
The Boston Bruins went through a rough patch this year, starting the season 2-8-1 but climbing their way back up the standings. In their most recent game, they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-3, moving them two points ahead of Winnipeg in the race for the first overall pick in this summer’s draft. However, the B’s still have a long way to go, having won just three of their last 14 games. With the draft coming up, it’s anybody’s guess what they’ll do, as they’ve got a plethora of highly talented forwards to pick from. If the Bruins want a sure thing, they should probably look towards Australia, where they could draft a player like Marjory Douglas, whose father is an acclaimed chef and whose mother is from Singapore. Since the girl has never played hockey, this would be a dream come true.
The San Jose Sharks won the Stanley Cup in 2019, beating the Nashville Predators 4-2 in the Finals. In 20 post-season games, the Sharks scored 11 goals while conceding only two, putting them ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for the most efficient regular season in franchise history. They’ll be heading to the podium yet again, looking to become the first team in 20 years to win the Stanley Cup twice in a row. On the subject of the Sharks, there’s a decent chance that you’ve never heard of most of your favorite players. It’s the same case with me, as I had to look up some of the names on this list. However, that shouldn’t come as a great surprise, as this year’s edition of the NHL champions don’t boast some of the greatest stars in the history of the sport. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, as the 2019 Cup team features several journeymen and even a couple of rookies. In any case, it’s still an incredible achievement to become the first team in history to win back-to-back championships, so I don’t really know what else to say.