MacKenzie Weegar Continues His Offensive Breakout In Leading The Calgary Flames To Their 5-2 Victory On Long Island

Weegar nets the hat trick in beating the New York Islanders and leads NHL defencemen with 15 tallies

MacKenzie Weegar has taken his play to new heights this season and reached rarefied air with his hat-trick performance while leading the Calgary Flames to their 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Weegar became the first Flames defencemen to post a regular-season road hat trick since Barry Gibbs on Dec. 31, 1975 — when they were the Atlanta Flames. He leads all NHL blueliners with 15 tallies on the season, having obliterated his personal best of eight in a campaign set in 2021-22 with the Florida Panthers.

“I never would have thought I’d have a hat trick in the NHL. I don’t even think I’ve ever had one,” Weegar told the media in New York. “Maybe Timbits, but I don’t remember it. This is a new feeling.”

That’s only part of Weegar’s tale on Long Island. He fired Calgary’s first four shots on goal and finished with six.

Jacob Markstrom again sparkled in net — his flubs while trying to score an empty-net goal, aside — and both Jonathan Huberdeau and Blake Coleman netted one goal and one assist in Calgary’s fourth consecutive win.

The Flames, who close out this road swing Monday against the New York Rangers, remain one point back of the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, but have earned their winning streak.

Now, two more thoughts after the victory:

Huberdeau showing his stuff

For a season and a half, the Flames, their fans and frankly the whole hockey world has been wondering what happened to Huberdeau’s game since being traded to Calgary from Florida in the same deal that brought Weegar to the Stampede City and sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.

Huberdeau has worked his way back to something resembling what was expected after that trade, and now has collected 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 16 games starting with the New Year’s Eve tilt. In three games since Andrei Kuzmenko was acquired and put on his line, Huberdeau has collected five points.

Huberdeau is one of those players whose game rises and falls with his confidence, and we’re now seeing what he can do when it is on a high.

Go Fourth Young Men

The injection of energy from the fourth line of Jakob Pelletier, Kevin Rooney and Walker Duehr has been huge through the three games on this strip.

On Calgary’s third goal, Pelletier’s pass creates a rush, Rooney does fantastic work on the forecheck and a pass ends up on Weegar’s stick in the slot to bury.

That’s consecutive games the fourth-line trio played a huge part, with Rooney scoring last outing, and Pelletier collecting his first point of the season on Weegar’s tally. Duehr is also looking more like the player we saw in the second half of last season.

Not to be overlooked, Rooney won eight of 11 face-offs.