While there were some spectacular performances by the goalies last night, the men behind the masks were completely overshadowed by the snipers. Goals were coming fast and furious in a bunch of NHL games last night, and when the dust settled four different players had put up 3 goal performances. Unfortunately, only three players can make our list, so one hat trick hero will have to be the odd man out. Read on to see which snipers made the cut:
3rd Star – Pascal Dupuis – The Pittsburgh Penguins really revved up the offensive engine last night, but surprisingly it wasn’t Crosby or Malkin who did all the scoring. The Penguins pounded the hapless New York Islanders 9-2 last night, and a pair of Pens turned the trick last night. Petr Sykora scored 3 times and added an assist, so should arguably be in this spot. However, Sykora’s talent should ensure him several appearances on our 3 star list, so I decided to give the nod to a guy who had a career game last night.
Pascal Dupuis has incredible speed and has shown flashes of offensive talent in the past, but he is just one of those guys who doesn’t seem to have much puck luck. Well, last night luck was finally on his side as everything he touched turned to goals. He netted his first career hat trick to help his team crush the Isles.
2 – Dustin Brown – Now here is a player who has a ton of potential. Not only can he score goals, but pound for pound he lays some of the hardest hits in the league. Dustin Brown would be a star on any Canadian NHL team, but has labored in relative obscurity in Los Angeles, where hockey has been dying a slow death ever since the departure of Wayne Gretzky. Still, the Kings bear watching over the next few years with exciting young players like Brown, Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov. If they can manage to solve their goaltending issues look for Dustin Brown’s Kings to look eerily similar to the Chicago Blackhawks.
1st Star – Scott Hartnell – The Philadelphia Flyers made an incredible comeback last night against the Carolina Hurricanes and Scott Hartnell was the catalyst in that comeback. Hartnell netted a natural hat trick to help his Flyers erase a 5-1 deficit and tie up the game. The Flyers would then go on to win the game in a shoot out. Surprisingly the game marked the first time in Flyers history that the team had come back from 4 goals down at home to win a game.