Mats Zuccarello sets record for most NHL hat tricks by a Norwegian

Minnesota Wild left winger Mats Zuccarello set the record last night for most National Hockey League career hat tricks by a Norwegian as the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He notched his second career hat trick which passed Espen Knutsen of Oslo, who was the only other NHL player in history to have a hat trick.

Hat Trick

Zuccarello opened the scoring at 4:54 of the first period from Kirill Kaprizov of Novokuznetsk, Russia and Sam Steel of Ardrossan, Alberta. He then put the Wild up 3-0 with 43 seconds left in the second period from Matt Boldy of Millville, Massachusetts, and Joel Eriksson Ek of Karlstad, Sweden. Zuccarello’s hat trick then came into an empty net with two minutes and nine seconds left in the game to close out the scoring.

Assist on the Game Winning Goal

Zuccarello had an assist on the game-winning goal by Kaprizov at 8:32 of the second period. Steel had the other assist as the Wild went up 2-0 at the time.

First career NHL hat trick

Zuccarello’s first NHL hat trick was with the New York Rangers on October 30, 2015. He scored all three of the Rangers goals in a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Espen Knutsen’s hat trick

Knutsen’s hat trick came in a 6-2 Columbus Blue Jackets win over the San Jose Sharks on January 24, 2002. Ray Whitney of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta and Mike Sillinger of Regina, Saskatchewan had two assists each on the Knutsen goal.

Zuccarello in 2022-23

In 30 games, Zuccarello has 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points and is a -7. He has 14 penalty minutes, 16 power-play points, one game-winning goal, 87 shots on goal, seven faceoff wins, 19 blocked shots, 18 hits, 15 takeaways, and 15 giveaways. Zuccarello’s game-winning goal this season came in a 1-0 Wild win over the Seattle Kraken on November 11.

Fourth straight win

Thad was the fourth straight win for Minnesota. They have the longest winning streak in the Western Conference. During the streak, they have also beaten the Vancouver Canucks 3-0, the Edmonton Oilers 2-1, and the Detroit Red Wings 4-1. The Wild are in third place in the Central Division with a record of 17 wins, 11 regulation losses, and two losses in extra time for 36 points.