Matt Duchene has had plenty of reason to celebrate, hat tricks come in bunches and Jack Eichel is back on the scoreboard.
Here are three things we learned in the NHL on Wednesday.
Matt Duchene had a happy birthday
Daddy Duchene is back.
After missing three games for the birth of his son and on the night of his 28th birthday, Duchene had a couple of goals and an assist in the Ottawa Senators‘ dominant 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The forward’s efforts also helped him reach the 20-goal mark for the seventh time in his 10-year NHL career. The fact that he did it against his old team was, to keep the birthday theme alive, the cherry on top.
As for the Avalanche, they must be feeling a little homesick. The team lost four of five games on their Canadian road trip, which started on Jan. 8 — the only win came against the Maple Leafs on Monday.
The longest hat-trick streak of the century
Scoring is up in the NHL and with it comes the hat tricks.
Sean Couturier‘s natural hat trick in the Philadelphia Flyers‘ 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins marked the sixth consecutive night where at least one player had three goals, a feat last recorded in 1999.
For context, the last time the NHL registered six nights in a row with a hat trick, Senators forward Brady Tkachuk hadn’t even been born, Star Wars: Episode I was two months away from being released and Britney Spears’ ‘Baby One More Time’ was the No. 1 song on the charts.
It’s been a while.
Claude Giroux also made his mark in the record books by reaching career assist Nos. 500 and 501 in the Flyers’ win, joining Bobby Clarke as the only two Flyers to get to 500.
Eichel breaks slump with style
Eichel found his way back to the scoreboard to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 overtime win on the road win against the Calgary Flames.
The Sabres captain hadn’t scored in five consecutive games dating back to Dec. 31. He also added an assist on the night to reach 51 points in 44 games this season, the third-best mark in franchise history.
Eichel was sidelined from Jan. 3–11, missing three games due to an upper-body injury. He currently leads the Sabres in points with 51 and his 16 goals trail only Jeff Skinner’s outstanding 30-goal mark.
Buffalo is now three points back of the Maple Leafs and looking to make a push for a playoff spot.
The perfect time to get back on the board.
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