SUNRISE, Fla. — Oct. 25, 2026 — It's a good month to own a hat in South Florida. Over three games in mid-October, the Florida Panthers did something no NHL team had ever done. According to the team, they scored a natural hat trick in three straight games.[3]

A hat trick is three goals by one player in a game. In a natural hat trick, the same player scores three goals in a row, with no one else scoring in between.

Game 1: Columbus, Oct. 13

The run started on the road. Brady Tkachuk scored "his first three goals of the season with a natural hat trick in the second period" in a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, NHL.com reported.[1] His brother Matthew had five assists, including the assists on all three of Brady's goals.[1] Brady scored the three goals in a span of 8:03, and it was the fourth hat trick of his career.[1]

The Panthers had come to Columbus after losing four of their previous five games.[1]

"I mean, it's pretty cool," Brady Tkachuk said after the game. "It's something that, of course, you kind of always dream of happening."[1]

Game 2: Vancouver, Oct. 15

Two nights later, back home in Sunrise, Brady Tkachuk did it again in a 3-2 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks.[2] He scored twice in the third period. The second goal tied the game with 13 seconds left. He then won it 2:23 into overtime with a wrist shot.[2] That gave him seven points (six goals and one assist) in two games.[2]

"Today was pretty special," Tkachuk said. "To do it in front of this crowd, but of course, it's not just one guy out there. It took a group effort."[2]

Game 3: Seattle, Oct. 17

The record fell on Saturday, Oct. 17, in an 8-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.[3] Carter Verhaeghe scored at 17:56 and 19:07 of the first period, the second on a power play. He completed his natural hat trick at 6:02 of the second period.[3] According to the team, "With Carter Verhaeghe's natural hat trick, following Brady Tkachuk's two, the Panthers became the first team in NHL history to record a natural hat trick in three straight games."[3]

Sam Bennett also scored three times that night, which made two hat tricks in one game. His third goal was the 400th point of his career.[3] The team said the Panthers had four hat tricks in three games. It also said they were "the first team in over 100 years to record four or more hat tricks before their 10th game of the season."[3]

"The speed of our offensive game is coming together," head coach Paul Maurice said.[3]

Then, a cold snap

The hot streak didn't last. On Oct. 21 in Ottawa, the Senators beat Florida 5-1 in Brady Tkachuk's first game back at Canadian Tire Centre since his trade to the Panthers.[4] Tkachuk, who had played eight seasons for Ottawa and was captain for five of them, scored Florida's only goal.[4] The win ended Florida's three-game winning streak.[4]

The next night, the Pittsburgh Penguins shut out the Panthers 4-0. It was the first time this season Florida failed to score.[5] Rookie goaltender Cooper Black made his NHL debut with 17 saves.[5] After the loss, Florida's record stood at 5-4-2.[5]

"It's a long year and this stuff just can't happen," Matthew Tkachuk said.[5]

The slump doesn't change the record book. Florida's three straight natural hat tricks are an NHL first.[3]

Sources

  1. NHL.com, "Brady Tkachuk scores natural hat trick, powers Panthers past Blue Jackets," Oct. 13, 2026. https://www.nhl.com/news/florida-panthers-columbus-blue-jackets-game-recap-october-13-2026
  2. NHL.com, "Brady Tkachuk scores second hat trick in row, lifts Panthers past Canucks in OT," Oct. 16, 2026. https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-florida-panthers-game-recap-october-15-2026
  3. FloridaPanthers.com, "RECAP: Panthers make history in win over Kraken," Oct. 18, 2026. https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/recap-panthers-make-history-in-win-over-kraken
  4. NHL.com, "Senators roll past Panthers in Brady Tkachuk's return to Ottawa," Oct. 22, 2026. https://www.nhl.com/news/topic/game-recap/florida-panthers-ottawa-senators-game-recap-october-21-2026
  5. FloridaPanthers.com, "RECAP: Panthers can't find their scoring touch in loss to Penguins," Oct. 23, 2026. https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/recap-panthers-can-t-find-their-scoring-touch-in-loss-to-penguins

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