TAMPA, Fla.- Lightning fans can be excused for thinking Brayden Point had more than one career hat trick before recording his second Saturday evening in Ottawa. After all, the 27-year-old center entered the game with 220 career goals and has often piled them up in bunches.
Point, whose first career hat trick was of the natural variety (three straight goals) at Pittsburgh in November 2018 and were scored in 91 seconds, became the 10th player in Lightning history to record multiple hat tricks.
Here is a look at the other nine.
11 – Steven Stamkos
Stammer’s hat tricks span 14 years and more than 900 games. His first was on February 17, 2009, during his rookie season, when he scored all three goals in a 5-3 loss to visiting Chicago. It was his 54th career game. Stammer’s most recent hat trick was last season on January 18 in a 5-2 win at Vancouver in his 965th game. His first goal that evening was the 500th of his career. Three times, Stamkos has recorded a pair of hat tricks in the same season: 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2013-14.
8 – Martin St. Louis
When St. Louis recorded a hat trick, there was a good chance another would soon follow. He had hat tricks nine days apart against the Hurricanes and Flames in January 2004 and 22 days apart against the Panthers and Devils in February 2012. St. Louis’ final hat trick was in January 2014, when he scored all four goals in a 5-4 loss to San Jose. He joined Chris Kontos in the Lightning’s first-ever game on October 7, 1992, in recording the franchise’s only four-goal games.
6 – Vincent Lecavalier
Lecavalier, whose 383 career goals are second to Stamkos in franchise history, recorded his first hat trick early in the 2002-03 season against the Penguins. His last hat trick with the Bolts was late in the 2007–08 season and came against the Islanders. Lecavalier finished his career with seven hat tricks, as he added one with the Flyers early in the 2013–14 season.
4 – Tyler Johnson
Each of Johnson’s career hat tricks has come in a Lightning uniform. His first was during the 2013-14 season, and his last was early in 2018-19. Johnson, who scored 161 goals in 589 games with Tampa Bay before being dealt to Chicago after the 2020–21 season, also recorded the Bolts’ lone playoff hat trick against the Rangers in 2015 to give a total of five.
4 – Nikita Kucherov
Kucherov’s first hat trick was against visiting Arizona early in 2014–15, his second season in the NHL. His next two hat tricks were less than a month apart during the back half of 2016–17. Kucherov’s most recent three-goal game was during the 2021–22 season.
3 – Wendel Clark
Clark was signed by Tampa Bay prior to the 1998–99 season and recorded three hat tricks despite not playing a full season. His trio of tricks accounted for nine of his 28 goals (65 games) before he was dealt to Detroit at the trade deadline. His third hat trick with the Bolts was the 12th and last of his career.
3 – Fredrik Modin
Modin was acquired from Toronto right before the 1999-00 season and proceeded to score 145 goals in six seasons with Tampa Bay. All three of his career hat tricks were with the Lightning, two of them against Philadelphia.
2 – Ryan Malone
Malone was a six-time 20-goal scorer during a career spent mostly with the Penguins and Lightning. He recorded a pair of hat tricks with each team. His first with Tampa Bay was early in 2009–10, and his second, the last of his career, was late in 2011–12. Malone scored 92 goals in 342 games with the Lightning.
2 – Teddy Purcell
Both of Purcell’s career hat tricks were with the Lightning, and they were recorded in consecutive seasons: 2010-11 and 2011-12. The latter was an overtime tally to defeat Winnipeg. Purcell was acquired along with a third-round pick from the Kings at the 2010 trade deadline in return for Jeff Halpern, who returned to Tampa in 2018-19 as an assistant coach.
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Signup for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps