Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli of Etobicoke, Ontario recorded his second National Hockey League career hat trick on Thursday. He accomplished the feat in a 6-3 Lightning win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Cirelli scored one goal in each period. He opened the scoring at 5:06 of the first period from Gage Goncalves of Mission, British Columbia. Cirelli then tied the game at two with an unassisted shorthanded goal at the 11 second mark of the second period. Cirelli then put the Lightning up 6-2 from Goncalves and Nikita Kucherov into an empty net with four minutes and 27 seconds left in the third period.
Two Canadians scored for the Lightning. Brayden Point of Calgary, Alberta put the Lightning up 3-2 with five minutes and 52 seconds left in the second period.
Cirelli’s first NHL hat trick came on January 17, 2020. The Lightning spanked the Winnipeg Jets 7-1.
In 2025-26, Cirelli has 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points in 67 games. He was a +35 with 46 penalty minutes, four power-play points, four shorthanded points, three game-winning goals, 120 shots on goal, 493 faceoff wins, 42 blocked shots, 47 hits, 24 takeaways and 48 giveaways.
With the win, the Lightning moved into a first place tie with the Buffalo Sabres in the Atlantic Division. Both teams have exactly 100 points. Tampa Bay’s record is 47 wins, 22 regulation losses and six losses in extra time.
