The Background
Do you remember the night Jaccob Slavin scored a hat trick? I'm not kidding. It actually happened. It was March 13, 2017. The Carolina Hurricanes were on Long Island, visiting the New York Islanders for primetime hockey on NBC Sports. The Canes were a meddling team, entering the night right at .500 at 27-27-11. Theoretically, they were in the hunt for a wild card spot, albeit 11 points back.
The New York Islanders were much closer to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, starting the night one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the position. While by no means the flashiest team, the Islanders were led by their captain John Tavares, and future captain Anders Lee, each of whom had 25 goals to this point in the season.
On this night, three Hurricanes took center stage. The first was the team's leading scorer, Jeff Skinner. The former 7th overall pick and 2011 Calder Trophy winner was putting together a solid season, leading the team with 21 goals and 43 points going into the game. The second was defenseman Justin Faulk. Establishing himself as a stout offensive defenseman, Faulk was aiming for his fourth straight 30-point season.
The night's big star was one of the franchise's hidden gems. Drafted in the fourth round out of Colorado College, Jaccob Slavin had already earned his reputation as an incredible defender in his end during his second NHL season. He was one of the few players on a mediocre Hurricanes team to maintain a positive +/- that year. His offensive game was slightly lacking, coming into the game with two goals and 22 assists. All of that would change on Long Island.