Edmonton Oilers' defenseman Mattias Ekholm reflects on his first career hat-trick performance against Anaheim Ducks

For a player who readily admits he's not known for offensive production, Mattias Ekholm picked quite the moment to find his scoring touch. The veteran defenseman recorded his first NHL hat trick Monday night in the Oilers' 7-4 victory over the Ducks, capping the achievement with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

The accomplishment made history beyond Ekholm's personal milestone. Edmonton became the first team in NHL history to feature defensemen scoring hat tricks in consecutive games, with Bouchard's three-goal, three-assist performance on Saturday followed by Ekholm's Monday masterpiece.

Edmonton Oilers set record while Mattias Ekholm’s hat-trick ends Anaheim’s Ducks’ undefeated streak

While the Oilers entered yesterday’s game as the clear favorites, the visiting Ducks were in red-hot form. But by the time the final buzzer went off, Edmonton had demolished the away team, winning their second game in a row at Rogers place

Ekholm remained the star of the show and when asked if he was jealous of Evan Bouchard's hat trick performance just two days earlier against Washington, Ekholm laughed off the suggestion. "Yeah, yes, nothing I thought about before, but I guess that's how it turned out," he said. "So yeah, fun moment."

The timing couldn't have been more unexpected for the 35-year-old Swedish defenseman. Playing in his 938th career game, Ekholm entered the contest with just three goals through 53 games this season. He'd gone 20 consecutive games without finding the back of the net before Monday's explosion.

"I'm usually not known for my goal-scoring ability," Ekholm told reporters. "I couldn't buy a goal for 20 games and then three in one." The self-deprecating comment captured Ekholm's surprise at the achievement. When asked if this was his first career hat trick, he paused before confirming it was indeed his first at any level as far as he could remember.

Ekholm's final goal came on an empty-net opportunity with Edmonton protecting a two-goal lead. "That last face-off, we're up by two," he explained. "If we were up by one, I'd probably just try to chip it out. But yeah, I tried to take a look at it at least, to see what happens. Fortunate enough to get it in there."

The performance helped Edmonton snap Anaheim's seven-game winning streak and improved the Oilers to 27-19-8 on the season. Leon Draisaitl contributed four assists while Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each added a goal and an assist.

The Oilers will look to build momentum when they host San Jose on Thursday, seeking their first three-game winning streak of the season.


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