1) The Banker Cashes in Not Once, Not Twice, But Thrice
He’s been quiet throughout most of the 2018-2019 campaign, but forward Kevin Labanc cashed in his best performance of the season with his first-ever NHL hat trick.
Labanc broke the ice at 10:39 of the opening frame after his shot from just inside the left circle redirected off an Oilers defenseman into the goal to give San Jose an early 1-0 lead.
After a brief 5-on-3 opportunity expired in the second period, the San Jose Sharks worked the puck down low on a cycle. A centering feed came right out to Labanc and he rifled home the power-play marker to extend San Jose’s lead to three. The Edmonton Oilers would get one before the middle frame ended, but that would not stop “The Banker” from making any deposits.
Labanc put the finishing touches on his hat trick at 1:36 of the third period on a shot from the high slot to give the Sharks a 4-1 lead. The 23-year-old left winger now has nine goals and 36 points on the season.
The @SanJoseSharks Twitter account was kind enough to patch together all 3 of Labanc’s tallies in this short clip.
First NHL 🎩 hat trick 🎩 for @Str8ToTheBanc deserves a re-watch (or three). #SJSharks | @enterprise pic.twitter.com/M8jHl6fsjx
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 10, 2019
Since his name has come up in recent trade talks Labanc’s caught fire. He’s collected five goals and nine points in his last eight games. If he keeps up his scoring, he’ll see even more time on the power play and another chance at cracking the top-six again, like he did at the beginning of the year.