Only three NHL players recorded a hat trick in their team's Stanley Cup-clinching game heading into Tuesday night. But Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] right winger Sam Reinhart went one step further to do something only one other player has done. Reinhart not only scored a hat trick but added another for a four-goal game as the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers] 5-1 in Game 6 to successfully defend their Stanley Cup championship [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/rats-reign-again-florida-panthers-repeat-as-stanley-cup-champs-after-beating-edmonton-oilers]. He opened the scoring early in the first period and scored on Stuart Skinner in the second period to extend the lead to 3-0. In the final half of the third period, Reinhart added two empty-net goals. Reinhart became the first NHL player to score four goals in a Cup final game since Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] legend Maurice 'Rocket' Richard did so on April 6, 1957, against the Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins]. But Richard's performance came in Game 1. For the last time a player scored four times in his team's Cup-winning game, we must go back 103 years. Sam Reinhart (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/2c912d01-e219-4885-95f1-f5aef1ffe7ca.jpeg] Sam Reinhart (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) On March 28, 1922, the Toronto St. Pat's [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] won the NHL championship series to take on the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Vancouver Millionaires in a best-of-five battle for the Stanley Cup. In a do-or-die Game 5, St. Pat's forward Babe Dye made history. Dye opened the scoring three minutes into the game. He scored again 80 seconds later. He completed the hat trick in the third period to give Toronto a 4-0 lead and then scored yet again seven minutes later to make it 5-0 in the eventual 5-1 St. Pat's win. Dye played 272 NHL games across 12 seasons, scoring 203 goals and 252 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970, eight years after his death. Reinhart has 294 goals and 619 points across 775 regular-season games and 32 goals and 56 points in 76 playoff contests. This post-season, he finished with 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 21 games. The last player to score a hat trick in their team's Cup-winning game is Vegas Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights] captain Mark Stone, who accomplished the feat against the Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/news/mark-stone-joins-two-other-nhl-players-to-score-hat-trick-in-cup-winning-game] in Game 5 of the 2023 Cup final. He was the first to do it since Dye and the third to do it overall. Jack Darragh of the original Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] was the first player in NHL history to score a hat trick in his team's Cup-clinching match when they beat the Seattle Metropolitans in 1920. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
