Brady Tkachuk's Back-to-Back Natural Hat Tricks Follow a Slow Start

Brady Tkachuk Records Back-to-Back Natural Hat Tricks for Florida

Brady Tkachuk scored three times, including the overtime winner 2:23 into the extra session, as Florida beat Vancouver 3-2 on Thursday, ESPN reported. It was his second straight hat trick, after he scored all three goals in an 8:03 span of Tuesday's 7-3 win at Columbus.

Both were natural hat tricks, three consecutive goals with no one else scoring. ESPN says he is the third player in NHL history to do it in back-to-back games, after Petri Skriko for Vancouver in 1986 and Cy Denneny for the original Ottawa Senators in 1923. Thursday's three came in 11:12, including the tying goal with 12.8 seconds left in regulation.

It's not about the individual stuff.

Florida acquired Tkachuk from Ottawa this offseason for four draft picks. He had no goals and one point through the first six games, and ESPN says social media criticism was loud.

Our Read: Hot Streak, Role, or Both

Six goals in two games is a startling number, and the useful question is how much of it repeats. Here is how we would weigh it.

• Streaks like this are mostly variance. A player who is held to zero goals in six games and then scores six in two is probably not two different players. Shooting percentage tends to even out over a season.
• The slow start looks like noise too. One point in six games, in a new building after eight years in Ottawa, is a small sample in either direction. We would not read the first six games as a verdict.
• Florida's schedule shape helps the story. The Panthers sit at 4-2-2 on ESPN's scoreboard feed, so the team was not collapsing while he was cold. A comeback win needing a late tying goal also shows how fast a game can turn.
• The usage is the part to track. Seth Jones assisted on three of his goals across the two games, and coach Paul Maurice praised how he wants big moments. Whether he keeps that line and power-play time matters more than the highlight.

Evidence points both ways: the production is real, but a two-game burst is a poor basis for predicting the next one.

What to Watch as Florida Faces Seattle

• Saturday's home game against Seattle, scheduled for 6 PM ET per ESPN. No line was posted in ESPN's feed when we checked.
• Whether Tkachuk's shot volume stays high, not only his goals.
• Florida's goaltending in third periods, after two games with late drama.
• Whether Florida keeps finding late goals, after a tying goal with 12.8 seconds left on Thursday.

See how sportsbooks price player props and game lines

Odds describe a price and not an outcome. Set a limit before you bet, and bet only where it is legal.