In the eighth game of the season on Thursday, the New York Islanders faced off against the Montreal Canadiens. Despite going to the Stanley Cup Final last postseason, the Canadiens have been struggling. In contrast, the Islanders’ play has been steadily improving during their road trip. Although the Islanders’ record going into the game was only 3-2-2, they had secured at least a point in their last five games as of Thursday. With momentum on their side, the Islanders looked to continue their winning ways, and they certainly did. Islanders’ forward Brock Nelson scored a hat trick and tacked on one more as the Islanders blew out the Canadiens in a 6-2 win.

Brock Nelson became the first @NYIslanders player to score four goals in a game since Kyle Okposo (Jan. 16, 2015).#NHLStats: https://t.co/6xV3Nt5lec pic.twitter.com/iy9f6cQbD2

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 5, 2021

Going into the game, Islanders‘ forward Brock Nelson only had two goals in seven games played in the 2021-22 season. In five of his eight seasons with the Islanders, Nelson has scored 20 or more goals. And last season, in a shortened 56-game season, Nelson recorded 16 goals, likely meaning he would have made it six seasons with 20-plus goals if the season was 82 games.

Nelson’s four-goal night on Thursday was his third career hat trick and his first hat trick since 2018. The last time Nelson scored a hat trick was against the Detroit Red Wings in 2018, in which the Islanders scored four goals on a five-minute power-play and the ultimately won the game 7-6 with a Nelson overtime winner.

That was one of the best Islanders’ game in recent memory, and their 6-2 win over the Canadiens was one of the best games of the young Islanders’ season. Nelson will look to score some more big goals Thursday, Nov. 11 against the Devils in Newark.

Ethan Halle

Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.