Alexander Wennberg of Stockholm, Sweden notched his second career National Hockey League hat trick on Saturday. The Florida Panthers center scored thrice in a 5-1 Panthers win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Wennberg opened the scoring at 11:44 of the first period from Gustav Forsling of Linkoping, Sweden, and MacKenzie Weegar of Ottawa, Ontario. He then put the Panthers up 3-1 at 12:54 of the second period from Frank Vatrano of East Longmeadow, MA. Then, Wennberg closed out the scoring at 13:38 of the third period from Owen Tippett of Peterborough, Ontario, and Forsling to put the Panthers up by a commanding four goals.
Wennberg was one of four Panthers players to have a multi-point game. The others were Sam Bennett of Holland Landing, Ontario, Jonathan Huberdeau of Saint-Jerome, Quebec, and Forsling. Bennett and Huberdeau each had one goal and one assist for two points, while Forsling had two assists.
The game will also be known for its rough play. The Panthers had 76 penalty minutes, and the Lightning had 78 penalty minutes. Ryan Lomberg of Richmond Hill, Ontario had 29 penalty minutes himself in only five minutes and 31 seconds of ice time.
Wennberg’s other career hat trick also came while with the Panthers. He scored three times in a 5-2 Florida win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 3, 2021.
In 55 games in 2020-21, Wennberg has 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points. He is a +5 with eight penalty minutes, six power-play points, one shorthanded goal, two game-winning goals, 80 shots on goal, 385 faceoff wins, 35 blocked shots, 29 hits, 28 takeaways, and 21 giveaways.
The Panthers and Lightning meanwhile are set to play each other in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time ever, despite the fact the teams are located in the same state. The Panthers are in second place with 77 points and the Lightning are in third place with 75 points.
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