The NHL's Frozen Frenzy, with all 32 teams playing on one night, produced a piece of family history in Columbus. Florida's Brady Tkachuk scored a natural hat trick in the second period, three consecutive goals in just over eight minutes, and his brother Matthew assisted on every one of them as the Panthers beat the Blue Jackets 7-3.
Reports on the game called it the first natural hat trick in NHL history in which all three goals were assisted by the scorer's brother. Brady added an assist for four points, while Matthew finished with five assists, tying the Panthers' franchise single-game record.
Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart each scored twice for Florida, and defenceman Seth Jones added four assists in a game that turned into a showcase for the Panthers' top players.
The brothers combined for nine points on the night. For a league that markets its stars relentlessly, a record set by two brothers on the same team, in the same period, on the one night every team plays, is about as made-for-highlight-reel as it gets.
