Saturday night, the planets all aligned for the Caps organization.
All three of the franchise’s teams played, including the Capitals’ two minor league affiliates: the Hershey Bears and the South Carolina Stingrays. Each team won their game and scored five or more goals to do so. All three teams also had a player tally a hat trick on the same night.
TJ Oshie’s hat trick
The Osh-Trick. #CapsBolts #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/8ocys8QH2V
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 19, 2017
At the NHL level, the Washington Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3. TJ Oshie scored two goals in the first period — a power play goal and an even strength goal — before tallying an empty netter with 44 seconds remaining in regulation. It was Oshie’s first regular-season hat trick since 2015. Oshie now leads the Capitals in goals (29) and has one more on the season than Alex Ovechkin.
Paul Carey scores four goals
What a night for @PaulCarey28 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/m2ERZEWprF
— AHL (@TheAHL) March 19, 2017
In American Hockey League action, the Hershey Bears defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack 6-4. 28-year-old forward Paul Carey became the first Bears player to score four goals in a game in seven years. According to Chocolate Hockey, the last player to do so was Mathieu Perreault in February 2010. Carey scored in every period Saturday night, including an even strength tally in the first period, a five-on-five marker in the second, and two goals in the third — a PPG and an empty-net goal.
Olivier Archambault’s hat trick
Oliver Archambault's hat trick for the South Carolina Stingrays last night 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/uASmCOZW9Z
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) March 20, 2017
Finally, in the ECHL, the South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 7-5. Olivier Archambault, originally a 2011 fourth-round draft pick from the Montreal Canadiens, tallied a hat trick in the game’s first 32 minutes. The 24-year-old scored an even-strength goal in the first period and twice more in the second stanza. The 5’11” prospect had nine shots in the Stingrays win.
When was the last time the Caps organization accomplished a feat like this? No one is really quite sure.
“Not sure there’s anyone who tracks such things, honestly,” Capitals’ senior writer, Mike Vogel, said on Twitter. “Definitely a rare occurrence, though.”
Headline photos: Mark LoMoglio, Kyle Mace/Chocolate Hockey
