Brady Tkachuk’s Back-to-Back Natural Hat Tricks Make Panthers History
Tkachuk scored six goals in two games, capped a comeback over Vancouver and became the first Panther with natural hat tricks in consecutive contests.
Brady Tkachuk turned a slow start in Florida into a franchise record in the space of two games. After going seven games without a goal, the Panthers forward scored twice in the third period against Vancouver, tied the game with 13 seconds remaining and finished his hat trick at 2:23 of overtime for a 3-2 win.
The overtime goal completed a run of three consecutive Tkachuk goals against the Canucks. He had scored three straight in the previous game, too, against Columbus. That makes him the first player in Panthers history to record natural hat tricks in consecutive games. The feat puts his scoring burst in a small group of franchise milestones, with Pavel Bure and Noel Acciari also having delivered hat tricks in back-to-back games.
A comeback finished in overtime
Florida entered the third period trailing Vancouver 2-0. Tkachuk supplied both goals the Panthers needed to force overtime, with the equalizer arriving in the final seconds of regulation. He then created the decisive moment in the extra period, scoring at 2:23 after getting the first strong scoring chance of overtime.
The sequence gave the Panthers more than a dramatic win. It showed how quickly Tkachuk’s early-season scoring line changed: six goals across two games, with seven points in that span. The source does not specify the assists or his ice time, so the scoring surge is clearest in the goals themselves. He moved from waiting for his first Florida goal to becoming the team’s hottest scorer in a matter of days.
That kind of turnaround can reshape the way a team’s recent form looks, even when it comes from a small sample. Two games do not settle what a player’s season will become, but consecutive three-goal performances demand attention. Tkachuk’s second hat trick also came with the game on the line: two goals to erase a two-goal deficit, then the overtime winner.
Bure set the earlier franchise mark
Pavel Bure remains Florida’s all-time hat trick leader. The Hall of Fame forward scored 10 hat tricks in parts of four seasons with the Panthers, alongside 152 goals in 223 games. Across his NHL career, he recorded 21 three-goal games; 10 came in Florida, or 48 percent of his total.
Bure was the first Panther to score hat tricks in consecutive games. He did it against Atlanta on Feb. 10, 2001, then against Phoenix four nights later, on Feb. 14. His first performance in that pair was especially striking: he scored in every period, including twice in the third, for a four-goal game. It was his first four-goal outing in eight seasons.
Against Phoenix, Bure helped Florida recover from a 2-0 deficit. He scored twice in the second period and added another in the third, completing a natural hat trick. He went on to record two more hat tricks that March, though they came across four games rather than consecutive contests.
Acciari’s consecutive-game run came in 2019
Noel Acciari was the other Panther to record hat tricks in back-to-back games before Tkachuk. The undrafted forward played for Florida from 2019 to 2022, scoring 27 goals in 127 games. All three of his career hat tricks came with the Panthers.
Acciari’s first came against Ottawa on Dec. 16, 2019. He scored once in the first period and twice in the second, so the three goals were spread across the game rather than scored consecutively. Four nights later, against Dallas, he produced a natural hat trick in the second period. Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau assisted on his first two goals; a shorthanded penalty shot completed the three-goal run.
The distinction puts Tkachuk’s accomplishment in perspective. Florida had already seen players score hat tricks in successive games, but no Panther had done so with a natural hat trick in each contest. The NHL’s broadcast also noted that Tkachuk was the first league player to record hat tricks in consecutive games since Auston Matthews did it in February 2024.
For Florida, the immediate takeaway is the sudden change in Tkachuk’s production and the way he delivered it: six goals in two games, capped by a late equalizer and an overtime winner against Vancouver. The record is already his. Whether the scoring run carries into the next stretch is the next measure to watch.
