There's no better time to get your first career hat trick than in the third period of a deadlocked game.
That's what Teuvo Teravainen did on Monday night to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars.
First career hat trick for Teuvo Teravainen! #Redvolution pic.twitter.com/2NdSrLXLsW
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) November 14, 2017
Teravainen isn't exactly known for his offensive outbursts, but on Monday the 23-year-old racked up a natural hat trick in the final frame to break open a 1-1 stalemate.
His first of the night came on the power play 2:39 into the period, when Jordan Staal found him all alone near the blueline. With a wide-open lane in front of him, Teravainen strolled to the top of the circle and unleashed a slapshot that evaded Stars goaltender Ben Bishop to give the Hurricanes a lead they would ultimately never relinquish.
Teravainen only had to wait a little over four minutes for his next goal. The Helsinki native raced into the Dallas zone and pulled up just inside the blueline before aiming a long-distance wrist shot that took a deflection en route to finding the back of the net.
With two goals inside the first seven minutes of the period already to his name, Teravainen added his third of the night before halfway mark of the final frame. Jordan Staal, who rung up four assists in the game, was once again the provider.
Staal battled along the boards and received the puck from Sebastian Aho before spotting a streaking Teravainen in the slot. With the attention of three Stars players, Staal slipped a pass to Teravainen, who made no mistake in hammering a one-timer past Bishop.
Teravainen finished the night with three goals and an assist, as he was credited with a helper on Aho's goal to open the scoring in the first period. With Monday's victory, the Hurricanes improved to 7-5-4 on the season.