Ryan Getzlaf is having a season to remember, and so are the Anaheim Ducks.
His hat trick helped his team set a franchise-record eight straight wins by topping the New York Islanders 5-3 on Saturday.
The 28-year-old now has 19 goals and 43 points in 35 games this season, providing a resounding argument for a ticket to Sochi.
His team is enjoying the kind of success it hasn’t seen since Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer roved the blueline. The Ducks’ 26-7-5 start is the club’s second best start over 38 games; only the 2006-2007 championship began on a bigger roll (27-5-6).
On the other end of the spectrum, the Islanders merely hope to avoid making history. They’ve lost three of their last four games to fall to 10-20-7.