No one scores hat-fulls of goals these days like David Pastrnak.
The Boston Bruins right wing netted a hat trick Tuesday night in the team’s 8-1 rout of the Montreal Canadiens. The hat trick was Pastrnak’s second of 20190-20, tying him with Edmonton Oilers star Conor McDavid atop the NHL’s hat trick leaderboard this season.
While the stars are neck-and-neck in the category, stats the NHL shared Tuesday night prove Pastrnak actually is the NHL’s hat trick king of the moment, with the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and the Winnipeg Jets’ Patrik Laine the chief rivals to his throne.
Most hat tricks, since 2018-19:
5 – @pastrnak96
3 – @ovi8
3 – @PatrikLaine29 #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/Jc8RplEpCE— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 27, 2019
Pastrnak’s hat trick also put him in elite company in terms of Bruins history and active NHL players, according to NHL.com.
“With seven career hat tricks (including playoffs), Pastrnak joined Barry Pederson as the second Bruins player to record seven such performances at 23 or younger,” NHL Public Relations wrote. “In fact, only two active players have posted more hat tricks prior to their 24th birthday: Washington’s Ovechkin (nine) and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (eight).”
Pastrnak won’t turn 24 until late May, giving him plenty of time to pass Pederson and catch either Crosby, Ovechkin or both, thus strengthening his claim to the hat trick throne.
