Vatrano scored three goals for his second NHL hat trick, and the Panthers won their sixth straight game, 4-3 against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Tuesday. Vatrano scored all three of his goals during the second period. The last one, at 19:23, proved to be the game-winner.
It was the Panthers' fourth hat trick this season, tying them with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals for the most in the NHL this season. Florida (28-16-5) enters the break with an NHL-leading 180 goals and is third in the Atlantic Division.
Mike Hoffman assisted on two of Vatrano's goals to extend his point streak to 10 games (13 points; six goals, eight assists), the second-longest active run in the NHL behind Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (11). It's the second time in as many seasons that Hoffman has had a point streak of at least 10 games; he had a Panthers-record 17-game run from Oct. 13 through Nov. 21, 2018. He's also the third active NHL player with point streaks of at least 10 games in each of his first two seasons with a team, joining Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (10 games in 2005-06 and 2006-07, 19 games in 2007-08) and Washington's Alex Ovechkin (11 games in 2005-06, 13 games in 2006-07).