HIGHLIGHTS
- Mavrik Bourque recorded his first NHL hat trick and added an assist as the Stars erased 3-0 and 5-3 deficits against the Maple Leafs
- Dallas scored three goals in 6:34 during the third period to complete a 6-5 comeback win in Toronto
- Watch the full highlights and see the reaction below
Mavrik Bourque picked a good time to have the best game of his NHL career. The 23-year-old forward netted his first hat trick and tacked on an assist as the Dallas Stars stormed back from two separate multi-goal deficits to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. It looked like a blowout in the making. Then Bourque went to work.
He cut the deficit to 3-1 just 52 seconds into the second period, ripping a wrist shot through the goalie’s pads from the left circle after intercepting a William Nylander pass. Less than five minutes later, Bourque made it 3-2 by tapping a rebound into an open net.
The Leafs pushed back and went up 5-3, but it didn’t matter. Dallas ripped off three goals in 6 minutes and 34 seconds during the third period. Bourque completed the hat trick at 14:52 when Alexander Petrovic fired from the right point, Matt Duchene got a tip on it, and Bourque shoveled the loose puck over the goal line to make it 6-5.
Check out the full highlights below:
Bourque finished with four points on the night, a new career high. He became the fifth player in Stars franchise history to record at least three goals and four points in a road game.
“I feel like I don’t really realize it right now,” Bourque told reporters after the game. “I haven’t been getting many hat tricks in junior or the AHL, so it just doesn’t feel real to get one in the NHL.”
The NHL celebrated Bourque’s performance on X:
Duchene chipped in three assists. Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist. Wyatt Johnston and Arttu Hyry also scored for Dallas, which heads into the playoffs with serious momentum after a win like this.
The comeback was historic. The Stars became just the sixth team in NHL history to overcome both a three-goal and a two-goal deficit in the same game and win in regulation. The last team to pull that off was the Hartford Whalers back on October 11, 1986, in a 6-5 win over the Calgary Flames.
For Toronto, Nylander had a goal and two assists. Jacob Quillan scored his first NHL goal. John Tavares, Nick Robertson, and Max Domi also found the net, but it wasn’t enough to hold on.
Casey DeSmith made 22 saves to pick up the win. The Stars already have injury concerns heading into Round 1, so Bourque picking up the slack at the right time could be exactly what Dallas needs going forward.
