Brady Tkachuk does it again: consecutive natural hat tricks, a feat last seen in 1986

Brady Tkachuk needed three goals to rescue Florida on Thursday. He scored all three, turning a 2-0 deficit into a Panthers 3, Canucks 2 overtime victory and completing his second natural hat trick in as many games.

The NHL's October 16 historical notes identify only two previous players with natural hat tricks in consecutive games: Petri Skriko for Vancouver on November 18 and 21, 1986, and Cy Denneny for the original Ottawa Senators on February 21 and 24, 1923. Tkachuk is the third, and the first since Skriko.

The three goals that rescued Florida

Vancouver had built its lead in the first period. Liam Ohgren scored at 7:23, followed by defenseman Elias Pettersson at 17:06. Florida was still scoreless more than halfway through the third. Then Tkachuk scored at 11:11, with Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk assisting, to bring the Panthers within one.

The tying goal came at 19:47 of the third, with Florida using an extra attacker. Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones earned the assists. The official scoring clock records the goal with 13 seconds remaining in regulation. Tkachuk finished the comeback at 2:23 of overtime, assisted by Jones and Sam Reinhart.

Those three goals came within 11 minutes, 12 seconds of playing time. Each did a different job: establish a chance, save a point, then win the second. Vancouver's Leevi Merilainen stopped 36 of 39 shots. Akira Schmid stopped 15 of 17 for Florida. The Panthers' 39-17 shot advantage needed that late finishing to become a win.

Two games, two separate scoring runs

Tuesday's sequence in Columbus had been faster. Tkachuk scored at 2:27, 6:00 and 10:30 of the second period, an 8:03 span that took Florida from a one-goal deficit to a 3-1 lead. His second and third goals came on the power play. The Panthers went on to win 7-3.

A natural hat trick requires one player to score three consecutive goals without anyone on either team scoring between them. Each of these games contained its own uninterrupted Tkachuk run. Thursday's overtime goal counts in that game's sequence; it was an official goal during play, with no intervening scorer after his two third-period goals.

A list with three names

Consecutive hat tricks and consecutive natural hat tricks are different historical categories. The NHL lists Auston Matthews' February 15 and 17, 2024 games as the previous consecutive regular-season hat tricks. The natural qualifier takes Tkachuk's comparison back to 1986 and 1923.

The distinction matters because it describes control over the scoring, not just the final goal total. Tuesday's burst broke a game open. Thursday's dragged one back from defeat. Six goals across two appearances produced two wins, and the second supplied every goal Florida scored.