Former Columbus Blue Jackets [http://thn.com/columbus] forward and current Montreal Canadien [http://thn.com/montreal] Alex Texier, had himself a night last night in a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers [http://thn.com/florida]. Going up against another former Blue Jacket in Sergei Bobrovsky, Texier and his Canadiens beat the Panthers for their third straight win. A win that moved them into first place in the Atlantic Division. Now for the cool part. Texier was able to net his first career hat trick in his 262nd NHL game, scoring his third goal with just 50 seconds left in the game to power the Canadiens past the visiting Panthers. Not only was this Texier's first hat trick, but it was his second three-point NHL game is as many games. Just one night prior, he scored a goal and had two assists to record his first three-point game in the NHL. During his time with Columbus, he had a couple two-goal games, and two-point nights, but never got the elusive hattie. Texier, Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, and Antoine Roussel are the only French nationals to reach 100 career NHL points in league history. Texier was traded to the St. Louis Blues from the CBJ on June 28, 2024. On November 23, 2025, he would sign with the Canadiens after the St. Louis blues terminated his contract a day earlier. He only played in 39 games for the Blues in two seasons. Through 22 games this season, he has 7 goals and 14 points, which puts him on pace to hit right around 38 points on the season, and that would beat his career high of 30, which was back in the 23-24 season while playing for Columbus. Check out Texier's hat trick goal below. Montreal Head Coach Martin St. Louis had this to say about Alex Texier, "It's still a small sample, but we’re happy with that sample. A player that’s still young, he’s talented, he had to overcome his own obstacles, just like Montembeault. It doesn’t matter where you are and how you got there; what matters is how you keep moving forward. There’s mental strength that comes with that, but also intentions. Your actions have to match your thoughts. […] Confidence doesn’t start when the puck drops; it’s way before that. It’s reps in practices, how you prepare. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to be successful." Congrats to former Blue Jacket Alex Texier. Up Next: Columbus travels to Colorado to take on the league's best in the Avalanche. Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwm-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and never miss a story. Let us know what you think below. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
