

Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images

Nobody really knows if/when it happened. Suffice it to say an Organizational Hat Trick is extremely rare, but the stars aligned for Caps, Bears, and Stingrays Saturday evening. All three players were named the first star in their respective games for their heroics.

More than likely, the one in South Carolina came first, if that really matters. Olivier Archambault scored the only goal of the first period and then tacked on two in the second for his 10th, 11th, and 12th goals of the season. Game recap can be found here.

G-Olivier #1

G-Olivier #2

G-Olivier #3

Archambault was taken in the 4th round (#108 overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2011 NHL Draft. He’s played for the Hamilton Bulldogs and Iowa Wild of the AHL along with the Alaska Aces and Quad City Mallards as well as the Stingrays in the ECHL. The 24-year-old left winger signed with South Carolina in the off-season.

Meanwhile in the AHL, Paul Carey was having the night of his life. The left winger tallied four goals (a fifth that came just before the final horn was not counted with no explanation given) for the Hershey Bears. It was his first professional hat trick. Full game highlights can be found here.

Carey #1

Carey #2

Carey #3

Carey #4

Carey was taken in the 5th round (#135 overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2007 NHL draft. No stranger to the Caps organization, Carey has appeared in 8 games over two seasons after arriving for the 2015-2016 season. He’s having the best offensive season of his career, and had a league best point-scoring streak of 19 games from October through December where he tallied 22 points.

The final one of the evening belonged to Washington’s TJ Oshie. Perhaps the biggest of the night, Oshie’s helped the Capitals clinch a playoff berth and hit the 100-point mark for the third consecutive year.

Goal-shie #1

Goal-shie #2

Goal-shie #3

Oshie scored a pair of goals in the first period, tacked on an assist on John Carlson’s third period goal, and then, like Carey, added an empty net goal en route to first star honors.

The Capitals have compiled Oshie’s goals here.

By Julie Beidler

Follow @juliebeidler

Share this: Tweet





