Panthers’ Brady Tkachuk scores natural hat trick; Matthew assisted all of them

Here’s something you don’t see every day.

In a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, Florida Panthers forward Brady Tkachuk scored a natural hat trick. On top of that, his older brother, Matthew, assisted on all three goals.

It came in the second period of the matchup. With the Panthers down 1-0 after 20 minutes, Matthew set up Brady off a turnover to help tie the game just over minutes into the middle stanza. Then, just a few minutes later, the brothers connected on the power play, as Matthew found Brady open in the slot, with the latter tapping in his second of the game to give Florida the lead.

The third marker came just past the halfway mark of the second, once again on the power play, as Matthew originally fed Sam Reinhart for a one-timer. Although Cam Talbot made the initial save, Brady was there to bang in the rebound to complete the trick.

It was the third hat trick of Tkachuk’s NHL career and the 69th overall three-goal performance during the regular season in the Panthers’ history. It was also Brady’s first three goals as a member of the Panthers.

The brothers continued the onslaught later in the contest. Matthew and Brady set up Carter Verhaeghe to cap off a four-goal second period, with Matthew adding a fifth assist on Reinhart’s goal early in the third period.

The brothers Tkachuk clicking together in game action is something Panthers fans have been foaming at the mouth for since Brady was acquired by the team from the Ottawa Senators this past summer. The duo was put on a line with Sam Bennett over the past few days, giving Florida a formidable line.

With the performance on Tuesday, Brady has five points in seven games, while Matthew has three goals and 12 points in the early going.