The New York Rangers have only had two natural hat tricks in the third period of a playoff game.
The first? Mark Messier in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils.
Messier famously guaranteed a win before that Game 6 with his team trailing 3-2 in the series when he said “we’re going to go in there and win Game 6.” And thanks in large part to his natural hat trick, they did.
The second third-period natural hat trick in Rangers playoff history came on Thursday when Chris Kreider single-handily lifted his team to the Eastern Conference Final in a 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
And while Kreider didn’t guarantee a win before the game, he still joins elite company and will surely be in the good books of Rangers fans for years to come.
The Rangers trailed the Hurricanes 3-1 heading into the third period and were in danger of giving up a 3-0 series lead and heading to a Game 7 until Kreider came to the rescue.
Messier’s Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1994. Rangers fans will surely be hoping that the Kreider hat trick is a good sign that another Cup is headed their way soon.
New York will now take on the winner of the Florida Panthers-Boston Bruins series in the Eastern Conference Final. The Panthers lead the series 3-2.