Pittsburgh Penguins right winger Justin Brazeau of New Liskeard, Ontario recorded his first career National Hockey League hat trick on Sunday. He accomplished the feat in a 7-3 Penguins win over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Brazeau’s first goal put the Penguins up 3-0 at 8:20 of the first period. He scored from Anthony Mantha of Longueuil, Quebec and Thomas Novak. Brazeau’s second goal put the Penguins up 5-1. Benjamin Kindel of Coquitlam, British Columbia and Ville Koivunen had the assists at 12:20 of the second period on the power-play. Brazeau’s third goal put the Penguins up 6-1 at 13:17 of the second period. Connor Dewar of The Pas, Manitoba and defenseman Ryan Shea had the assists. Brazeau’s second and third goals came 57 seconds apart.
Brazeau was one of two Canadians to score for the Penguins and have a multi-point game. Mantha had one goal and one assist for two points.
In 2025-26, Brazeau has 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points. He is a +3 with four penalty minutes, three power-play points, two game-winning goals, 39 shots on goal, 17 blocked shots, 39 hits, six takeaways, and 17 giveaways.
Brazeau’s game-winning goals came in his first two goals of the season. Brazeau scored from Evgeni Malkin to open the scoring in a 3-0 Penguins win over the New York Rangers with 32 seconds left in the first period on October 7. Brazeau then scored from Malkin and Mantha to break a 3-3 tie with five minutes and 39 seconds left in the third period in a 4-3 Penguins win over the New York Islanders on October 9.
The Penguins have improved to a record of 16 wins, 12 regulation losses and nine losses in extra time for 41 points. They are one point back of the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, who are all tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points.