When you’re already off to a career-best season, how do you top it?
With a hat trick, apparently.
Ryan Donato registered his first career hat trick on a kneeling one-timer during the second period of the Chicago Blackhawks’ 5-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
Donato, 28, thrust his fist forward and let out a yell before he was quickly mobbed and hats rained down at the United Center.
It was a crowning moment for the eighth-year forward, who bounced around between the Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken before landing in Chicago last season. He extended his team lead to 28 goals — a career high by 12 — and has recorded multiple points in three straight games.
The night began with Donato’s opening goal in the first, which was a beauty as well.
Ilya Mikheyev scooped the puck off the wall and passed across the defensive zone to Ethan Del Mastro.
Del Mastro launched a savvy stretch pass though Vegas skaters to a streaking Donato, whose first shot bounced Adin Hill’s pad before Donato batted in the rebound.
Goal No. 2 came on a sharp-angle shot during a delayed penalty, assisted by Joe Veleno and Wyatt Kaiser. It tied the game at 2.
Donato’s hat-trick goal came on assists from Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Bedard.
Bedard carried the puck deep into the zone with a couple of Golden Knights in hot pursuit. But he put on the brakes and passed between them to Mikheyev, who gathered the puck and had a clear lane to dish to Donato.
Donato’s third goal came 15 seconds after his second, giving the Hawks a 3-2 lead.
When Donato scored two power-play goals in one period (another first) two games ago against the Philadelphia Flyers, Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen didn’t seem surprised by the offensive outburst.
“He’s been good all year, as long as I’ve been here,” he said at the time. “He’s emotionally invested in everything he does. …
“He’s got a sneaky way to find (goals). He’s around the net a lot. He gets his shot off a lot. And those things usually work well.”
The Golden Knights rallied in the third with goals from Victor Olofsson and Pavel Dorofeyev to retake the lead, and Brett Howden added an empty-netter to hand the Hawks their ninth loss in 10 games.