Stars forward Mavrik Bourque’s perfect reaction to first career NHL hat trick

Dallas Stars forward Mavrik Bourque played the best game of his NHL career just a couple hundred kilometers away from where he grew up, recording his first ever hat trick and adding an assist in a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday night.

The Plessisville, Quebec native, who is in his second full season in the big leagues, became just the fifth player in franchise history to score at least three goals and four points on the road, and the first since teammate Wyatt Johnston did it against the Sharks in San Jose back in March of 2024.

“I feel like I don’t really realize it right now,” Bourque said afterwards, per NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. “I haven’t been getting many hat tricks in junior or the AHL (American Hockey League), so I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel real to get a hat trick in the NHL.”

Bourque has looked potent on a line with Matt Duchene and Jason Robertson as of late, and it looks possible that that trio could remain together for the opening of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 24-year-old is up to 40 points in 81 games.

Locked into the No. 2 seed in the Central Division, the Stars will play the Minnesota Wild in Round 1, with the series set to begin at the American Airlines Center in Texas over the weekend.

“Going into the playoffs, we have to be more direct and go to harder places,” Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan said after the win, per McCarthy. “It’s kind of what we talked about and I thought we did a good job getting into those ugly areas. Everything gets so tight come playoff time, you need to get into those areas or it’s tough to score.”

Dallas has one more regular-season tilt before then, a visit to Western New York to play the Atlantic Division-winning Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.

It’s been a terrific campaign for the 49-20-12 Stars, but it’ll be a tough path through the Central, with the Wild and President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche also hoping to have deep playoff runs.

Dallas has advanced to three consecutive Western Conference Finals, and the quest to make it four begins in just a couple of days.

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