Nick Bjugstad records his second career NHL hat trick

Arizona Coyotes centre Nick Bjugstad of Minneapolis, Minnesota registered his second career National Hockey League hat trick on Saturday. He accomplished the feat in a 6-0 Coyotes blowout win over the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was a special night for Bjugstad, who had one of the biggest games of his NHL career, in his home state of Minnesota.

How and when did Bjugstad score thrice?

Bjugstad put the Coyotes up 2-0 at 11:47 of the first period from defenseman Michael Kesserling of Florence, South Carolina. Kesserling, who picked up his 14th NHL career point, is one of only two NHL players ever from the state of South Carolina. The other is Ryan Hartman of Hilton Head Island, who plays for the Wild.

Then at 17:21 of the first period, Bjugstad scored from Lawson Crouse of Mount Brydges, Ontario and Jason Zucker of Newport Beach, California. The goal came on the power-play and put the Coyotes up 3-0. Bjugstad’s hat trick goal came at 6:40 of the second period to put Arizona up 5-0. He scored from defenseman Troy Stecher of Richmond, British Columbia and Zucker.

Bjugstad’s 2023-24 NHL Statistics

Bjugstad has nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points in 41 games. He is a +6 with five power-play points, one shorthanded point, one game-winning goal, 85 shots on goal, 355 faceoff wins, 24 blocked shots, 54 hits, 18 takeaways and 13 giveaways. Bjugstad’s game-winning goal came on November 30 in a 4-3 Coyotes win over the Colorado Avalanche. Bjugstad scored an unassisted overtime winner with 21 seconds left in the game. Bjugstad’s shorthanded goal came on December 7 in a 6-0 Coyotes win over the Washington Capitals. Bjugstad scored from Alexander Kerfoot of Vancouver, British Columbia and defenseman J.J. Moser of Biel, Switzerland, to close out the scoring with three minutes and six seconds left in the second period.

When was Bjugstad’s prior hat trick?

Bjugstad’s prior hat trick came for the Florida Panthers on March 6, 2018. In an all-Florida battle, the Panthers lost 5-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In a Playoff Hunt

With the win, the Coyotes improved to a record of 21 wins, 18 regulation losses, and two losses in extra time. They are three points back of the Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.