Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier becomes first NHLer with three hat-tricks in a 10-day span to start a month

Anaheim Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier is enjoying himself this season and making history as the Ducks establish themselves as one of the NHL’s most thrilling teams through the first quarter of the 2026-27 regular season. 

On Sunday night, with a three-goal, one-assist performance in a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, he became the first player in NHL history to score three hat tricks within the first 10 days of a calendar month. 

Gauthier leaned on an empty-net goal in the final minute to earn himself the historic honor, as the Ducks became the first team since the 1988-90 LA Kings to score at least five goals in eight consecutive games. 

The 22-year-old started the month in peak form, scoring his first November hat trick on Nov. 1 in a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Two days later, he potted another trio against the struggling Vancouver Canucks in a 5-4 victory.

Both of his first two hat-tricks in November included two power-play goals, as he makes the most of Anaheim’s league-leading 38.5 percent success rate on the man advantage this season. Yet, his history-making performance against the Penguins didn’t need any special-teams help, with two goals coming at five-on-five before he netted the empty-net marker to seal the victory. 

Through 17 games this season, the Swedish-born American has 15 goals, good for third in the NHL, and seven assists for 22 points, ranking him 17th in NHL scoring overall. In his career, he has 76 goals and 60 assists for 136 points in 176 games with the Ducks and, previously, the Philadelphia Flyers. 

After Sunday’s win, the Ducks sit third in the Pacific Division with 21 points through the first 18 games of the 84-game campaign, as they look ahead to a Wednesday night home game against the Nashville Predators.