Florida Panthers' Brady Tkachuk Named NHL's First Star Of The Week

It may have taken him time to get going, but Brady Tkachuk is now fully acclimated to life with the Florida Panthers and thriving.

The Panthers' sniper was named the NHL's first star of the week, scoring six goals and 10 points in four games. Tkachuk scored back-to-back natural hat-tricks, making NHL history. Tkachuk became the third player in NHL history with natural hat-tricks in back-to-back games, joining Cy Denneny, who did it in 1923, and Petri Skriko, who did so in 1986. 

When Carter Verhaeghe scored a natural hat-trick on Saturday, the Panthers became the first team in NHL history to record natural hat-tricks in three consecutive games. 

The 27-year-old has now completely erased his slow start and put the worries surrounding him to bed. In his first five games, Tkachuk failed to record a point and just simply looked out of place. Since reuniting with his brother Matthew, who also had a stellar week with 10 assists, Tkachuk has looked comfortable, and the production is following.

Joining Tkachuk as the stars of the week are Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (second star) and Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov.

Here's what the NHL's press release had to say about Tkachuk's week.

"Tkachuk, buoyed by back-to-back natural hat tricks, led the NHL with 6-4—10 in four contests to propel the Panthers (5-2-2, 12 points) to a trio of wins. He collected an assist, his first point with Florida, in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres Oct. 12. Tkachuk then became the third player in League history (and first in 40 years) to record a natural hat trick in consecutive games, notching 3-1—4 in a 7-3 triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets Oct. 13 before scoring three times (including the tying goal with 12.8 seconds remaining in regulation and his 13th career overtime winner) in a 3-2 comeback victory against the Vancouver Canucks Oct. 15. Tkachuk additionally became the third player in Panthers history to post a hat trick (of any kind) in back-to-back appearances, joining Noel Acciari (Dec. 16-20, 2019) and Pavel Bure (Feb. 10-14, 2001), as well as the first player on any NHL team to achieve the feat since Auston Matthews from Feb. 15-17, 2024 (w/ TOR)."

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