Verhaeghe Natural Hat Trick Makes Panthers History

Carter Verhaeghe just put the Florida Panthers in the record book. Verhaeghe scored three straight goals for a natural hat trick in an 8-3 rout of the Seattle Kraken at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, and that made Florida the first team in NHL history with natural hat tricks in three consecutive games.

Brady Tkachuk started the run with natural hat tricks against Columbus on Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday, per the AP. Then Verhaeghe took the baton before the game was even halfway done.

Verhaeghe's three in a row

The game was tied 1-1 late in the first after Sam Bennett and Seattle's Shane Wright traded goals. Verhaeghe broke it open with a slap shot from the right faceoff dot at 17:56. Just 71 seconds later, on a power play, Brady Tkachuk whipped a cross-ice pass to him down low and Verhaeghe lifted it short side for a 3-1 lead with 53 seconds left in the period, per the Kraken's recap.

He finished the job at 6:02 of the second, cashing in a Niko Mikkola wraparound feed to bring the hats down. Mikkola scored his first of the season 40 seconds later, and the rout was on.

Bennett joins the party

Verhaeghe was not the only Panther collecting hats. Bennett opened the scoring 1:05 into the game, added another in the second and completed his own hat trick in the third. Those were his first three goals of the season, and USA Today notes it was the first time in franchise history two Panthers recorded hat tricks in the same game. Bennett also picked up his 400th career point.

"The puck seemed to be following us around," Bennett told reporters.

Sam Reinhart also scored, and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists before leaving after a collision with Bennett. Brady Tkachuk was held without a goal but added two assists, giving him 10 points in his last four games, per USA Today. Florida has four hat tricks this season, all in the last three games, which matches its total from the previous three regular seasons combined, per the AP.

Seattle got goals from Wright, Freddy Gaudreau and Ryker Evans. The Kraken finished a five-city road trip 3-1-1, and the eight goals were the most Joey Daccord has ever allowed in a game, per the team.

Hat trick streak heads to Ottawa

Florida has won three straight and sits at 5-2-2, doing it without captain Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand for much of the young season. The one thing to watch is Matthew Tkachuk after that collision.

Next up, the Panthers visit the Senators on Wednesday, with Brady Tkachuk heading back to the city where he used to wear the C. Four straight games with a natural hat trick? Nobody has ever done it, and this team keeps finding new ways to make history. Bring a spare hat.