Deslauriers Calls His Record-Setting Hat Trick 'Pretty Weird'

Despite having just pulled off the first three-goal game of his career -- a natural hat trick that came in a little more than nine minutes -- Nicolas Deslauriers didn't see it as a time to stop being humble.
"I don't know," he joked in the postgame TV interview, "if I've scored three goals in practice."

The fourth-line winger known more for his pugilism than his scoring prowess reeled off the hat trick in the first 12 minutes of last night's opening period to propel the Ducks to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators at Honda Center.
Deslauriers' three goals on three shots came in a span of just 9:04 and sent shockwaves through Honda Center. The 29-year-old vet had only had a pair of two-goal games in his career prior that night (both during the 2017-18 season with Montreal), and had just 28 goals in 374 NHL games.
"Just scoring a goal for me is something special," he said. "It's pretty weird. It's a first for me. I don't think even when I was a younger kid I scored more than one or two goals. It's special.
"When I scored two [earlier in my career], it was just luck. It happened to me once maybe two years ago. It was one of those feelings where I had to shoot the puck. It might take me another five games to put a puck on net. I don't know why it happened, but I'm happy."

Deslauriers' hat trick came in the opening 11:49 of the game, bettering the previous record of 12:58 set by Teemu Selanne on November 10, 1997 vs. San Jose. It was the third hat trick in Ducks history to be scored in the first period and the ninth natural hat trick in club history.
"I just found out it was the quickest one," Deslauriers said. "That's a plus."
It marked the fastest three goals from the start of a game in the NHL since March 30, 2013, when Taylor Hall of Edmonton scored three in 7:53 vs. Vancouver. It was also the fifth-fastest NHL hat trick from the start of a game since 1990.

You don't often see a hat trick from a guy who leads the NHL in fighting majors, and it was almost as remarkable that Deslauriers didn't have a fight in this particular game. As of March 11, he had 14 fights in 58 games, with the next closest competitor - Austin Watson of Nashville - having half that number (7).
Deslauriers' willingness to go to battle for his teammates is just one reason why he's immensely popular in the Ducks locker room, something you could sense by the reaction of the team after that third goal.
"Everybody on that bench has probably never been more happy for a guy on their team than what occurred tonight in the first period," said Ducks teammate David Backes. "If you could hand out goals to guys on the team that deserve them, it's a guy like Des. He does all the hard stuff. He's willing to stick up for his teammates, fight, scrum, get space for other guys and make sure the opponent's on their heels.
"What a special moment to be a part of. These are the moments that you remember. They make the game special. A guy like that, he's talking about maybe not having one of those in his career or lifetime, and to do it in the NHL in 12 minutes of work in the first period, that was special."

Deslauriers' first goal came early in the first period, as he took in a feed from linemate Carter Rowney and sent it top corner. He got his second one with 8:43 left in the period, going to one knee to one-time a Rowney dish inside the left post. Less than a minute later came the remarkable moment, as Deslauriers one-timed a shot from off the faceoff that deflected off the mask of Ottawa goalie Marcus Hogberg and tumbled into the net.
Almost immediately hats came raining down from the Honda Center stands as Deslauriers soaked in the loud roar. You couldn't wipe the smile off his face, even as he prepared for the ensuing faceoff at center ice.
"Often, I'm not a guy that takes credit for anything," he said. "You can look at the goals. Two great passes from [Carter] Rowney. On the third one, just a faceoff win and a lucky bounce."
Deslauriers was drafted 84th overall by the Kings in 2009 but never appeared in an NHL game for them. He played four seasons for the Buffalo Sabres and two with the Montreal Canadiens, where he had a career-high 10 goals in 58 games in 2017-18. Montreal traded him to the Ducks last June 30 in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.

Last month he received some stability when the Ducks signed him to a two-year contract extension that lasts through the 2021-22 NHL season.
"Des does a lot of heavy lifting for this team," said Ducks coach Dallas Eakins. "He's first to the rink every morning. His work ethic is out of this world. To see a guy get rewarded like that scoring goals when that's not something he's known for, it makes for a great night. The guys were so excited for him on the bench.
"That was probably the biggest smile I've seen from Des, as well. We're really proud of him. It's awesome he made history with this organization. He surpassed some fairly good players."