Hats Off For Hertl

It was National Hat Day on Tuesday, January 15, and Tomas Hertl decided to celebrate the best way a hockey player can: by scoring a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Hertl's first goal of the night game late in the first period, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead. And what a goal it was.
Hertl grabbed the puck from below the goal line in the offensive zone, bringing it up the boards. Bumping Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin off with an impressive reverse butt check, Hertl took the puck, deked around a few defenders, and then roofed the puck over goalie Matt Martin.

His second of the night came early on in the second period. Justin Braun shot the puck from the point, bouncing off the goalie's pads. Tomas Hertl gathered the rebound, and slipped it five-hole to give the Sharks a 4-1 lead.

The final goal of the night - for both the Sharks and Hertl - came on the empty net, but that didn't mean it was an easy go of it. Linemate Evander Kane battled to get the puck out of the zone, and then passed the puck up to Hertl, who gathered the puck and shot past a defender to ice the game and bring on the hats.

Tomas Hertl's hat trick goal wasn't just his third goal of the night - it was also his 100th career goal, an impressive milestone.

This was Hertl's second career hat trick, with the first being the famous four-goal game that ended with a
between-the-legs goal-of-the-year candidate
.
"It was a nice feeling after a while," Hertl said to the media after the game about getting his second hat trick after a five-year drought. "The guys were just looking for me."
On his first goal, Hertl drew some laughs. "Every guy was laughing because I used my big ass again. I didn't know [it was Malkin] in the moment, but after it's always nice to take on a player like that. I was feeling it, took a couple of steps, made a move, and then shoot it."
"I'm just happy I scored right now. It's about the season, because I'm feeling really good about the team and that's the most important."