On Friday, the St. Louis Blues defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-0, with Brandon Saad shining in the game. He scored his first-ever natural hat trick, marking his first hat trick as a Blues player.
Saad’s first goal came from a breakaway, putting the Blues ahead 2-0. Ottawa attempted a pass to defenseman Nick Jensen at the blue line, but it missed. Saad chased the puck, beat Jensen to it, and then scored through the legs of Ottawa’s goalie Anton Forsberg.
His second goal was also a five-hole shot. On a fast break, his teammates Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas helped move the puck out of the defensive zone. Buchnevich passed to Saad, who scored again through Forsberg.
To complete the hat trick, Saad took the puck from his own zone and skated up the ice. He found himself in a 2-on-1 situation with Alexandre Texier on his right. Texier pointed to the net, and Saad shot it under the crossbar, causing the crowd to throw hats onto the ice.
Before this game, Saad hadn’t scored in 19 games, with his last goal coming on Nov. 14 against the Buffalo Sabres, when he scored twice.
At 32 years old, Saad became the 12th player this season to score a natural hat trick. The last player to do so was Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27, when he had a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Recently, Saad had been mentioned in trade rumors for the Blues. Even though he struggled to score earlier in the season, his hat trick could draw more interest from other team managers.
Saad, from Pittsburgh, signed a five-year contract with the Blues in 2021. He has a $4.5-million salary cap hit and one year left on his contract after this season. He also has a no-trade clause for this year. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Saad would be willing to consider being traded if the opportunity arises.
