Dylan Larkin records second career NHL hat trick

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin of Waterford, Michigan recorded his second National Hockey League career hat trick on Sunday. He accomplished the feat in a 5-2 Red Wings win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario.

How the three goals were scored

Larkin scored Detroit’s last three goals of the game. His first goal was the game-winning goal with 39 seconds left in the first period. Dominik Kubalik of Plzen, Czech Republic and Olli Maatta of Jyvaskyla, Finland picked up the assists to give the Red Wings a 3-1 lead. In the third period, the Maple Leafs then pulled within one goal, before Larkin scored to put Detroit up 4-2 at the 10:16 mark of the third period. Ben Chiarot of Hamilton, Ontario and reigning Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider of Zell, Germany picked up the assists. Larkin then closed out the scoring with an empty netter with two minutes and 12 seconds left in the game. Defenseman Jake Walman of Toronto, Ontario had the lone assist.

2022-23 NHL Statistics

Larkin had 31 goals and 45 assists for 76 points in 75 games. He is a -3 with 41 penalty minutes, 29 power-play points, one shorthanded point, five game-winning goals, 233 shots on goal, 26 blocked shots, 46 hits, 53 takeaways, and 42 giveaways. The shorthanded goal was unassisted and came on Halloween in an 8-3 Red Wings loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Previous Hat Trick

Larkin’s prior hat trick came on December 18, 2021. Ironically, it was the same score as Sunday as the Detroit Red Wings beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2. Larkin had a four-point game in this contest, as he added an assist on a goal by Tyler Bertuzzi of Sudbury, Ontario. Bertuzzi was traded from Detroit to Boston at the NHL trade deadline.

Improvement in 2022-23

With the win over Toronto, the Red Wings improved to a record of 34 wins, 33 regulation losses, and nine losses in extra time. They have one more regulation win than a regulation loss. In 2021-22, the Red Wings had eight more regulation losses (40) than regulation wins (32).