Night of Hat Tricks
For apparently the first time since March 14, 2016, the NHL saw three hat tricks in one night. Go ahead, get it out of your system; call it a “hat trick of hat tricks.”
If you want one player of the night to rule them all, then roll with Brad Marchand, who combined three goals and two assists for a five-point night. As you can learn more about here, the Bruins needed all of those points in a 6-5 overtime win against the Red Wings. Here’s the hat trick:
Patrik Laine scored all three of the goals in Winnipeg’s 3-0 win against the Rangers:
It inspired this highly specific factoid:
#NHLJets Patrik Laine is the first teenager to record a visiting Hat Trick at MSG since Ted "Teeder" Kennedy on Dec 27, 1944
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 7, 2018
Finally, Nick Bjugstad’s hat trick helped the Panthers push the Lightning to overtime, but Tampa Bay ultimately won 4-3 in OT via Brayden Point’s beautiful, beautiful goal. Scroll some more for Point’s latest point, but here’s Bjugstad scoring three:
All things considered, it was a strong night for hat salespeople.
Donuts
To read about how John Gibson helped the Ducks beat the Capitals thanks to his 36-save shutout, click here.
The most noteworthy shutout was Pekka Rinne’s, as his 50th-career shutout helped the Predators carve out a 2-0 win against the Dallas Stars. Rinne tied Andrei Vasilevskiy for the NHL lead with seven shutouts this season, which also matches his career-high.
He’s also on a ridiculous 17-1-1 run.
Pekka Rinne is 17-1-1 in his last 19 games. 50th shutout of his career. 7th of the season, tied for NHL lead. #Preds
— Ryan Porth (@Porth670) March 7, 2018
Oh yeah, and the Predators are now winners of nine straight games, setting a new franchise record.
The #Preds have now won nine consecutive games, a franchise record.
— Nashville Predators PR (@PredsPR) March 7, 2018
Highlight of the Night
Seriously, Brayden Point, this goal borders on scandalous.
With that, Point tied Steven Stamkos for a Lightning record with his 10th game-winning goal of the season. The Lightning just keep churning out great players, don’t they?
Yes, Taylor Hall scored again
More on that in this post. He collected two assists, pushing his scoring streak to 26 straight “appearances.”
Scores
Bruins 6, Red Wings 5 (OT)
Devils 6, Canadiens 4
Jets 3, Rangers 0
Blue Jackets 4, Golden Knights 1
Lightning 5, Panthers 4 (OT)
Predators 2, Stars 0
Wild 6, Hurricanes 2
Blackhawks 2, Avalanche 1 (OT)
Ducks 4, Capitals 0
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.