Anthony DeAngelo records first career hat trick

Anthony DeAngelo of Sewell, NJ recorded his first career National Hockey League hat trick on Thursday. DeAngelo scored thrice as the New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

DeAngelo also had a career high in points with five. In addition to the three goals, he also had two assists.

DeAngelo notched his first point at 5:42 of the first period with an assist on a goal by Artemi Panarin. Adam Fox of Jericho, NY had the other assist. At the time, the Rangers went up 1-0.

At 9:47 of the first period and the game tied 1-1, DeAngelo put the Rangers up 2-1 with a goal from Chris Kreider of Boxford, MA and Mika Zibanejad. Then at 12:16 of the first period, DeAngelo notched his third point of the opening frame with an assist on a power play goal by Kreider, which put the Rangers up 3-1. Zibanejad had the other helper.

With the game tied at three goals apiece in the second period, DeAngelo scored two more times. At 12:08 of the middle frame, he scored the game winning goal from Marc Staal and Pavel Buchnevich and then registered the the three goal game at 15:02 on the power play from Ryan Strome and Panarin.

Four other Rangers had a multi-point game. Panarin had one goal and two assists for three points, Kreider had one goal and one assist, while Strome and Zibanejad each had two assists.

In 43 games, DeAngelo now has 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points. He is a +7 with 23 penalty minutes, 12 power play points, three game winning goals, 93 shots on goal, 28 blocked shots, 35 hits, nine takeaways and 45 giveaways.

DeAngelo is the co-leader on the Rangers in game winning goals. He is tied with Panarin, Strome and Zibanejad. DeAngelo’s other game winning goals this season came in a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on November 25 and in a 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 28.

The Rangers are the youngest team in the NHL. They have a record of 21 wins, 18 regulation losses and four losses in extra time for 46 points. They are six points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.