Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon earned his first NHL hat trick in the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Considering how snake-bitten the Avalanche’s wonder kid has been, it’s great to see him finally warming up.
The game didn’t begin in the most auspicious of ways. The Avalanche gave up a whole bunch of shots and, finally, the first goal of the game.
It’s long been said that MacKinnon is going to be that kind of hockey player who can be a real game changer. Judging by his performance against Tampa Bay, this is correct. MacKinnon took over.
He started by tying up the game with just over three minutes left in the game. Game 60 for the Avalanche, and that was just his 10th goal of the season.
It was a beauty, though. MacKinnon split the Tampa Bay defense and threw a back hand at Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy:
Both teams came out strong in the second. The Lightning weren’t showing any fatigue from having played the night before. However, MacKinnon put the Avalanche up 2-1 just over three minutes into the second period. Center Ryan O’Reilly put the puck on net, and MacKinnon was perfectly positioned for the tip in:
After a goal from Avalanche center Matt Duchene (16th of the season) and an answering goal by Tampa skater Tyler Johnson, the Avalanche were up 3-2.
MacKinnon took over again. He got the puck and moved into the Lightning zone with speed. (Of course). He went up on one skate to make it look cool and just wristed the shot top shelf. Beauty:
Nathan MacKinnon was the youngest player to win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year last season. Now, he has become the youngest Avalanche player to earn a hat trick. Like I said, wonder kid.
It’s been awhile since the Avalanche have had a hat trick. On November 4, 2011, Matt Duchene had a hat trick in an away game against the Dallas Stars.
The last time the Pepsi Center saw a hat trick was March 6, 2010, scored by then-Avalanche forward Chris Stewart.
As Maxim Denomme pointed out on Twitter, MacKinnon’s hat trick celebration was interrupted by the referees:
Ref ruining Nathan MacKinnon's hat trick celly @RefYouSuck pic.twitter.com/SnsuWwZHgV
— Maxim Denomme (@maximdenomme) February 23, 2015
However, Denver Post writer Mike Chambers got video of the rain of hats that came down on the ice:
Nathan MacKinnon made it snow hats here in Denver. #Avs http://t.co/i0QW3rTmAd
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) February 23, 2015
The hat trick marked goals number 10, 11 and 12 on the season for MacKinnon. So, in a single game, MacKinnon got a quarter of his goals for the season.
MacKinnon naturally earned the first star of the game with his performance. During the interview with Altitude TV’s Julie Browman, he remarked modestly, “The puck seemed to find the net for everyone, not just me.” The score was 5-4 in the end.
However, a bit of his confidence crept out later:
"“I don’t know how many hat tricks I’ll score in my career, but getting this one was refreshing. It was great to share it with my teammates in the huddle and here at home.”"
MacKinnon probably will get a few hat tricks in his career. However, here’s to hoping MacKinnon is warmed up well right now.