Columbus Blue Jackets right winger Kirill Marchenko of Barnaul, Russia collected his third career National Hockey League hat trick on Tuesday. He accomplished the feat in an 8-4 Blue Jackets win over the Nashville Predators at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Inside look at the hat trick
Marchenko scored one goal in each period. He opened the scoring at 1:15 of the first period. Defenseman Zach Werenski of Grosse Pointe, Michigan picked up the lone assist. Marchenko then put the Blue Jackets up 4-2 from Sean Monahan of Brampton, Ontario at 4:12 of the second period. Then at 5:23 of the third period, Marchenko put the Blue Jackets up 8-3. Defenseman Dante Fabbro of Coquitlam, British Columbia and Monahan had the assists.
Marchenko’s two prior hat tricks
Marchenko’s first NHL hat trick came on January 7, 2023 in a 4-3 Blue Jackets win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Marchenko’s second NHL hat trick came on December 19, 2023.
Marchenko in 2024-25
This season, Marchenko has 31 goals and 39 assists for 70 points in 70 games. He is a +28 with 20 penalty minutes, 18 power-play points, two game-winning goals, 188 shots on goal, 12 faceoff wins, 34 blocked shots, 49 hits, 32 takeaways, and 80 giveaways.
Marchenko’s first game-winning goal this season came on December 23 in a 5-4 Blue Jackets win over the Montreal Canadiens. Marchenko broke a 4-4 tie with two minutes and 12 seconds left in the third period. Monahan and Werenski had the assists. Marchenko’s second game-winning goal this season came on January 25. He scored an overtime winner from defenseman Ivan Provorov of Yaroslavl, Russia and Justin Danforth of Oshawa, Ontario with one minute and 15 seconds left in the extra period.
Blue Jackets in playoff contention
Columbus improved to a record of 34 wins, 30 losses and nine losses in extra time for 77 points. They are currently two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for a playoff spot. The Canadiens won a dramatic game on Tuesday as they beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime. The Habs tied the game at two with nine seconds left in the third period and then won the game 29 seconds into the extra period. Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki of London, Ontario had the game-tying and game-winning goals.
