ANALYSIS: Kane, Hagel Hat Tricks Lead Way in 'Crazy' Win Over Devils

The last time the Blackhawks saw a pair of players net hat tricks on the same night, Patrick Kane was suiting up for the Buffalo Saints 14U AAA team in upstate New York and Brandon Hagel was just four years old. Both combined to accomplish the feat on Friday night, the Chicago first duo since Eric Daze and Steve Sullivan on March 9, 2003.
Chicago took an 8-5 victory over New Jersey on the back of the combined six goals between them, but also saw timely goals from Kirby Dach and Ryan Carpenter just 41 seconds apart in the dying minutes of the third to turn a 4-4 game into a 6-4 lead, one the Blackhawks didn't relinquish despite another three combined goals in the final 5:15 of play.

POSTGAME LINKS
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The power play tied a season mark with three man-advantage goals in the win, and Seth Jones and Alex DeBrincat each had a trio of assists in the win. Kevin Lankinen returned to the net after a nearly five-week injury layoff and backstopped the win, his third of the year.
"Pretty cool night tonight," Kane said. "Nice to score some goals, the power play was pretty good for us obviously and got some timely goals from Dacher and Carpy at some big moments. It's good to see some guys chip in.
"Crazy, crazy game, but we had some guys step in here tonight," Hagel said. "Huge goal by Carpenter. That goal gave us the edge. Without that, who knows where we'd be. A lot of guys stepped up tonight. Dacher did a great job of shutting down tonight."

YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER

For the second time this season, both Kane and Hagel found themselves sitting on the verge of a hat trick in the third period of the same game. On Nov. 1 against Ottawa, Kane cashed in and Hagel didn't. On Friday night, Hagel wasn't going to let that be the case -- especially with a friendly competition to hit 20 tallies first was on the line.
"He came up to me and told me he was catching me," Hagel explained of Kane's taunting after completing his hat trick with an empty netter. "So I had to go out there and get one and say 'No you're not, buddy.'"
The matching three goals apiece ensured that Hagel remains one goal ahead of Kane on the year, 17 to 16.
"We want to see who can get to 20 first, so it's kind of been back and forth, tonight especially. He got another empty net there, so he's got me by one," Kane said. "Kind of a similar situation tonight (as against Ottawa), but nice to see him get a hat trick. That's pretty special and even after the goal showing his feistiness and getting the crowd pumped up. It's good stuff."

HAGEL THE FIGHTER

The first career hat trick for Hagel came in his 100th NHL appearance -- an accomplishment in itself for a sixth-round pick that went unsigned, passed over a second time through the draft after and then ultimately signing as a free agent in Chicago as a 20-year-old in the WHL.
"No better way to do it," he said.
In his first 100 skates, Hagel has 54 points (26G, 28A) and has 30 points (17G, 13A) in just 47 games this season -- all career markers offensively.
"It's actually crazy. Being unsigned and signing up for school and now here I am, playing 100 games in the NHL, hat trick. Pretty surreal," Hagel continued. "Obviously thank my parents for that as well, they gave me every opportunity in the world to make it to this level and live my dream and here I am, already a hundred games in, scored my first hat trick. It feels really good."
For interim head coach Derek King, who was Hagel's first pro coach in Rockford and
dubbed him as the team's most valuable player
after the forward's first AHL campaign, the 23-year-old's success at the NHL level is simple.
"He hasn't changed his game from Rockford to here. He's the same kid, same person. He might dress a little better. But his game hasn't changed. He works hard and he has some offense to him. He can play at both ends of the ice, he kills penalties, you can put him on your power play and that's what we did in the American League. He's just rolled it over into this and he's a big part of this team."
The step from the AHL to the NHL is huge, but to be able to carry the same production from one to the other almost right away is rare.
"It's tough, and especially as quick as he did," King continued. "Especially where he came from, right? He was drafted and didn't sign, he was an over-age and then we brought him and Reese Johnson in and that's just hard work paying off."
"He's been a great pick up," Kane said of Hagel. "He brings a lot of pace, a lot of energy the way he plays, is able to get pucks back on the forecheck and obviously he's having a great year scoring some goals too. He's really been a good addition for us."
From his path to the NHL to being rumored in trade deadline rumblings at a value of a first-round pick and a top prospect before his hat-trick night, Hagel has put the league on notice. After the game, he was quick to quip a potential new market value for himself when asked if his stock had risen.
"Two firsts, couple prospects, (Connor) McDavid maybe," he laughed.

BACK IN THE CREASE

Nearly five weeks to the day after he was injured in an overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild, Lankinen returned to the net on Friday night fully recovered from a hairline fracture in his right hand.
"I'm probably the happiest guy on the team right now," he said Tuesday after his first day fully-cleared to resume practice.
A proud competitor, Lankinen knew something was wrong with his blocker-side hand that Jan. 22 night, but in a tight, back-and-forth game, wanted to see his team to the finish -- eventually falling in a thrilling overtime contest. After the game, he and the Blackhawks discovered the severity of his injury.
"You always get a couple bumps and bruises throughout the game and you always want to finish the game," he said. "I (thought) we had a good chance to win that game and I wanted to finish the game and see after how it was, and unfortunately it forced me to be out a few weeks."
The blessing, Lankinen said, was that his injury was "just a hand" -- despite the valuable role hands play in his position -- meaning he was able to keep skating and working on his strength in conditioning over the last month, only barred from facing shots on the ice.
"The only thing I was able to control is how I come back and how I do my thing on a daily basis," he said. "I'm probably in better shape now than I was four weeks ago."
The box score from the win might not look the greatest -- five goals against on 34 shots (.861 SV%) -- but getting back into game action and holding his own to backstop the team to a win was a positive step forward after an extended period off.
"I think this was a good test for him, especially coming back. The St. Louis game may be a little tougher for our team, so for him to come back against the Devils like this and, you're going to face some shots, it was good," King said. "I'm sure he'd want a couple back, but he survived. He handled it well. He worked hard and competed and gave us a chance to win a hockey game."