Mitch Marner of Markham, Ontario recorded a hat trick for the first time in his National Hockey League career on Saturday, and remarkably it was a four-goal game. Marner had four goals and two assists for six points in a 10-7 Toronto win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Marner becomes the seventh player this season to score more than three goals in a game. Other Canadians to achieve the feat have been Detroit Red Wings left winger Tyler Bertuzzi of Sudbury, Ontario, Boston Bruins center and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Patrice Bergeron of L’Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, and Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner of Toronto, Ontario. Bergeron won a gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
Marner scored three consecutive goals in the second period from Michael Bunting of Scarborough, Ontario and Auston Matthews. The goals came at the 33 second mark, 4:13 and 9:19 of the middle frame to put the Maple Leafs up 6-1 at the time. Marner then closed out the scoring at 15:41 of the third period from Bunting.
On the season, Marner now has 21 goals and 33 assists for 54 points in 43 games. He is a +17 with 10 penalty minutes, 13 power-play points, three shorthanded points, four game-winning goals, 135 shots on goal, four faceoff wins, 17 blocked shots, 23 hits, 42 takeaways, and 39 giveaways.
The 17 goals scored between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings were the 21st most in NHL history. It was also the first time in 11 years that 17 goals were scored in a game. On October 27, 2011, the Winnipeg Jets beat the Philadelphia Flyers 9-8. That was Winnipeg’s first season back in Winnipeg in the NHL.
With the win, the Maple Leafs improved to 34 wins, 14 regulation losses, and four losses in extra time for 72 points. They are 20 points up on the Detroit Red Wings for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
