The Anatomy of a Moment: The Night Jaccob Slavin Couldn't Miss the Net

Known for his incredible defensive acumen, there was one night in 2017 when the shutdown defender turned into a scoring machine on Long Island.

Carolina Hurricanes v New York Islanders
Carolina Hurricanes v New York Islanders | Al Bello/GettyImages
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Jeff Skinner, Thomas Greiss
Carolina Hurricanes v New York Islanders | Al Bello/GettyImages

Finishing the Job

Early in the third period, Jeff Skinner would earn a chance to score his second goal of the night. Skinner forced Cal Clutterbuck to hook him on a breakaway, preventing the Canes forward from getting a shot off and allowing the referee to award a penalty shot. Skinner undressed Thomas Greiss, faking him out with a deke that allowed him to slide the puck into the net on his backhand.

With three players sitting on two goals each, the last thing that needed to be answered was which, if any, would find their third one. Of the three choices, it's safe to say that the least likely of the bunch was the one who did it. With 9:03 remaining in the contest, Jaccob Slavin completed the first hat trick of his career. It was a rather inauspicious shot from the looks of it, but it got some help from Travis Hamonic's stick to beat Greiss. With it being a road game, there wasn't much fanfare for the occasion.

Slavin became just the fourth defenseman in Whalers/Hurricanes history to record a hat trick, and the first since Joe Corvo scored three times against the Senators almost nine years to the day. He was also the fourth defenseman in franchise history to score four points in a game. The Hurricanes ended the night with an 8-4 victory. Along with the multi-goal games from Slavin, Skinner, and Justin Faulk, Jordan Staal and Noah Hanifin added a pair of assists each.

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