NHL Sees Historic Hat Trick Surge to Start 2026

You get a hat trick, you get a hat trick, we all get a hat trick!

Nov 15, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; The Dallas Stars ice girls pick up hats off the ice after left wing Jason Robertson (not pictured) scores a hat trick during the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It’s been a hat trick palooza in the NHL in January.

Everybody loves a hat trick. There are few things more exhilarating at a hockey game than a player scoring his third goal and then the entire crowd flooding the ice with hats. There’s nothing else like it in sports, and it’s part of the reason hockey is so special and beloved.

Over the course of the month, the NHL has seen a historic rise in the number of hat tricks. Through the first 29 days of the new year, 29 hat tricks have been recorded across the league, which ties a league record for most in a single month. With a couple of days to go in January, it’s almost a certainty that the mark will be surpassed.

Hats Fly Across the League in January

Jan 26, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by defensemen Mattias Ekholm (14), his third of the game and first career hat-trick, during the third period against the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images | Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

What makes the trend all the more special is the variety of players who have accomplished the feat. From a Connor McDavid hat trick on Jan. 6 to a Mason Marchment three-goal game on Jan. 25, all sorts of players have done it so far in 2026. New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad has done it twice in January — once on Jan. 2 and again on Jan. 17 — while Boston Bruins forwards Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov both recorded hat tricks in the same game on Jan. 10.

And that’s just the start. Nashville Predators veteran Steven Stamkos turned back the clock on Jan. 22 with a dominant three-goal performance — he had a four-goal game on Dec. 11 as well — while up-and-coming Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke continued to make his name known with a hat trick on Jan. 25. Auston Matthews, the ever-potent scorer for the Toronto Maple Leafs, joined the party on New Year’s Day. So did Rasmus Dahlin on Jan. 27. And don’t forget Justin Sourdif’s hat trick on Jan. 5 that delivered the Washington Capitals a victory over the Ducks.

There have been TWENTY-NINE (29) hat tricks this month in the NHL... ties a league record 🎩
-Sennecke
-Nelson
-Bouchard
-Marchement
-Caufield
-Tippett
-Stamkos
-Foligno
-Svechnikov
-Zibanejad
-O'Reilly
-Ehlers
-Thompson
-Khusnutdinov
-Zacha
-Texier
-McDavid… pic.twitter.com/DERii4OHcZ

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 29, 2026

To cut a long story short, there’s been a ton of hat tricks this month. But why? It’s difficult to fully encapsulate the reasons, but it goes to show just how skilled NHL scorers are nowadays. Gone are the times when teams struggled to get one puck past the goalie. This is a new age where scoring is ever-present, which has enabled players to notch goals like never before. With that comes a lot of hat tricks, just like those seen in January.

Not everybody netted a hat trick, though. It’s still a relatively rare accomplishment despite the abundance this month, which means the next time one happens, celebrating like it’s Christmas Day is an appropriate response. Also, don’t worry if your favorite player didn’t get one in January — at this rate, it’ll happen eventually.

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