Tampa Bay Lightning left winger Brandon Hagel of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, scored his third career National Hockey League hat trick on Tuesday. He achieved this with an 8-5 victory for the Lightning over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Hagel scored a natural hat trick (three goals in a row), with all three goals coming in the second period. Hagel gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead at 9:27 of the second period with Anthony Cirelli of Etobicoke, Ont., and defenseman Nicklaus Perbix. Hagel’s second goal gave the Lightning a 4-2 lead at 13:01 of the second period. Cirelli and Connor Geekie of Strathclair, Manitoba picked up the assists. Hagel’s hat trick gave the Lightning a 5-2 lead at 15:53 of the second period, ahead of Cirelli and defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg.
In addition to the hat trick, Hagel added an assist for a four-point game. Hagel’s assist set up Lightning defenseman and captain Victor Hedman’s game-winning goal at 17:28 of the second period, giving Tampa Bay a 6-2 lead.
Hagel was one of two Canadians on the Lightning with a multi-point game. The other was Cirelli, who contributed four assists. Hagel was one of two Canadians to score. The other was from Brayden Point in Calgary, Alberta.
Hagel’s first NHL hat trick came on February 22, 2022. Ironically, Hagel also led his team to an 8-5 victory over the Devils. However, Hagel was playing for the Chicago Blackhawks at the time. Hagel’s second hat trick came on March 18, 2023 in the Lightning’s 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
For the season, Hagel has five goals and three assists for eight points in six games. He is a +6 with two penalty minutes, 16 shots on goal, one faceoff win, two blocked shots, one hit, one takeaway and nine giveaways. Hagel’s two blocked shots came in the Lightning’s 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on October 15. Interestingly, Hagel scored all eight points this season while Tampa Bay was even.
With the win, the Lightning improved to a record of four wins and two defeats and thus eight points. They are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Ottawa Senators and are one point behind the first-place Florida Panthers.
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