Tkachuk Brothers Make History and McDavid Stars in 800th Game as All 32 NHL Teams Play
All 32 NHL teams played on the same night for the fourth edition of Frozen Frenzy, and the 16-game card produced a piece of history in Columbus and a four-point performance from Connor McDavid in his 800th game.
Brady Tkachuk scored a natural hat trick for the Florida Panthers in their 7-3 win over the Blue Jackets, with his brother Matthew assisting on all three goals. It is the first time in NHL history that a player's sibling has set up every goal of a natural hat trick.
A Night the Tkachuks Had Imagined
All three of Brady's goals came inside 8:03 of the second period, the third-fastest set of three goals by a Panthers skater behind Noel Acciari and Steve Reinprecht. He became the eighth player in franchise history to record a natural hat trick.
"It's something that of course you kind of always dream of happening," Brady said afterwards. On the first of the three, he credited his brother: "It was a great play by Matthew to kind of get the ball rolling there."
Matthew finished with five assists, the second five-assist game of his career, four of them in the second period alone, which is a franchise record for assists in a single period. It was his 21st career four-point game, moving him to fourth among United States-born players.
Between them the brothers produced nine points, the first time brothers on the same team have reached that figure since the Sedins in 2015, and they are only the third set of brothers in the past 40 years to each post four or more points in the same game.
Head coach Paul Maurice pointed to something longer-standing than form. "There's some chemistry there," he said. "He and his brother played together their whole lives as kids, and there's something there for sure."
Carter Verhaeghe, who scored twice, agreed. "It's fun to watch the Tkachuk brothers play together," he said. "They have some pretty good chemistry. They've been great." Seth Jones, who added four assists of his own, said of Brady: "It's nice to see him get rewarded for doing the small things every game, the little things, and staying with it."
McDavid Marks 800 Games With Four Points
Edmonton beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1, McDavid collecting a goal and three assists in his 800th regular-season appearance. He assisted Leon Draisaitl's opener at 7:16 of the first period and Vasily Podkolzin's power-play goal a minute later, then scored himself on a shorthanded breakaway at 15:48.
Brandt Clarke replied for the Kings in the second period before Podkolzin added an empty-netter. Oilers goaltender Devon Levi made a career-high 39 saves.
"I mean, just the way the guy shows up every single day, it's rinse repeat," Levi said of McDavid. Head coach Mike Babcock was less effusive about the performance as a whole. "I didn't think at any time we were fantastic tonight, but McDavid and the big boys were great," he said.
For the Kings, Trevor Moore was blunt. "The belief's there in our group, but just not good enough right now," he said.
Overtime, Shootouts and a Streak Extended
New Jersey beat Detroit 5-4 in overtime, Jack Hughes scoring the winner on a breakaway at 1:19 and finishing with three points alongside a three-point night for Jesper Bratt. Alex DeBrincat scored twice for the Red Wings.
Carolina made it six consecutive wins with a 4-2 victory over Washington, Andrei Svechnikov scoring twice including the winner. Montreal beat Buffalo 4-3 in a shootout decided by Zack Bolduc, and Seattle beat Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout settled by Bobby McMann.
Colorado edged Dallas 3-2 through two Martin Necas goals, one on a five-on-three power play, with Nathan MacKinnon assisting twice and Mackenzie Blackwood making 24 saves. The New York Islanders beat Vancouver 3-2, Kyle Palmieri scoring twice in his return from injury.
Returns, Debuts and a First Win
Chicago beat Pittsburgh 5-3 with Teuvo Teravainen and Roman Kantserov scoring twice each, and Connor Bedard registering an assist on his return. The New York Rangers beat Tampa Bay 4-1, Alexis Lafreniere scoring twice in the first period and Dylan Garand making 25 saves in place of the injured Igor Shesterkin.
Calgary claimed their first win of the season, Martin Pospisil scoring late in a 4-2 defeat of Anaheim. Boston beat San Jose 6-3 with Charlie McAvoy scoring on his season debut, Fraser Minten scoring twice and Jeremy Swayman making 35 saves.
St Louis routed Ottawa 7-2 with Pius Suter, Jake Neighbours and Mason McTavish all scoring twice. Winnipeg beat Minnesota 5-2 behind a three-point night from Mark Scheifele, Vegas beat Nashville 5-2 after scoring three in a row, and Utah held off a late Toronto rally to win 5-4.
