Known for his incredible defensive acumen, there was one night in 2017 when the shutdown defender turned into a scoring machine on Long Island.
The Background
Do you remember the night Jaccob Slavin scored a hat trick? I'm not kidding. It actually happened. It was March 13, 2017. The Carolina Hurricanes were on Long Island, visiting the New York Islanders for primetime hockey on NBC Sports. The Canes were a meddling team, entering the night right at .500 at 27-27-11. Theoretically, they were in the hunt for a wild card spot, albeit 11 points back.
The New York Islanders were much closer to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, starting the night one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the position. While by no means the flashiest team, the Islanders were led by their captain John Tavares, and future captain Anders Lee, each of whom had 25 goals to this point in the season.
On this night, three Hurricanes took center stage. The first was the team's leading scorer, Jeff Skinner. The former 7th overall pick and 2011 Calder Trophy winner was putting together a solid season, leading the team with 21 goals and 43 points going into the game. The second was defenseman Justin Faulk. Establishing himself as a stout offensive defenseman, Faulk was aiming for his fourth straight 30-point season.
The night's big star was one of the franchise's hidden gems. Drafted in the fourth round out of Colorado College, Jaccob Slavin had already earned his reputation as an incredible defender in his end during his second NHL season. He was one of the few players on a mediocre Hurricanes team to maintain a positive +/- that year. His offensive game was slightly lacking, coming into the game with two goals and 22 assists. All of that would change on Long Island.
Things Remain Even in the First Period
While Jaccob Slavin would be credited with three goals in the game, he technically played a hand in New York's first goal. A little before the midway point in the first period, Dylan Strome's shot from the right dot deflected off Slavin's stick and between the pads of Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward to open the scoring. The shot was missing wide before grazing off Slavin and into the net.
Slavin would get it right back with just under six minutes left. The rising shot from the point eluded Jean-Francois Berube as he was caught guessing. This was a rare start for the Islanders third-string goalie. One of his six prior starts was against the Hurricanes in early February, a 5-4 overtime victory for the Hurricanes ended by Ron Hainsey's second goal of the game. Ironically, that meeting was also the last time Slavin had scored a goal.
The Hurricanes would grab the lead 26 seconds later on a rebound goal by Joakim Nordstrom. This would be the only goal not scored by Slavin, Justin Faulk, or Jeff Skinner for the Canes. Slavin was credited with the secondary assist on the goal, giving him an early multi-point night. The Islanders would get it back after Stephen Gionta knocked home a rebound at the top of the crease for his first goal of the season to tie the game after 20 minutes.
Breaking it Open
The last bit of momentum the Islanders would get for the night came early in the second period. Future Hurricane Calvin de Haan scored with a wrister over the glove-side shoulder of Cam Ward. It was a shot that seemed innocent at first, given where de Haan released it from. From this point on, the Hurricanes were in the driver's seat.
Justin Faulk tied the game for the third time with a glove-side goal of his own. After not catching Jordan Staal's pass cleanly, Faulk unleashed a wicked shot past Jean-Francois Berube from the right dot to extend his point streak to four games. Jeff Skinner joined the fun 71 seconds later. Entering the zone on a 2-on-1 with Victor Rask, Skinner snuck one through the pads of Berube to end the New York goalie's night.
In Berube's place entered Thomas Greiss. He faced a rude awakening once he took his spot in the crease. Faulk scored over Greiss' blocker on the first shot he faced to give the Canes the first multi-goal lead of the game. With three goals in 2:07, the game had turned sharply in Carolina's favor.
That point was only made clearer when Jaccob Slavin scored his second of the night with the Canes down a man. Slavin outmuscled Brock Nelson at the blue line before winning the race down the ice and sliding the puck through Greiss' pads with one hand. The Islanders would finish the period by cutting into their deficit when Joshua Ho-Sang tipped a pass in from the side of the net, making it 6-4 going into the third period.
Finishing the Job
Early in the third period, Jeff Skinner would earn a chance to score his second goal of the night. Skinner forced Cal Clutterbuck to hook him on a breakaway, preventing the Canes forward from getting a shot off and allowing the referee to award a penalty shot. Skinner undressed Thomas Greiss, faking him out with a deke that allowed him to slide the puck into the net on his backhand.
With three players sitting on two goals each, the last thing that needed to be answered was which, if any, would find their third one. Of the three choices, it's safe to say that the least likely of the bunch was the one who did it. With 9:03 remaining in the contest, Jaccob Slavin completed the first hat trick of his career. It was a rather inauspicious shot from the looks of it, but it got some help from Travis Hamonic's stick to beat Greiss. With it being a road game, there wasn't much fanfare for the occasion.
Slavin became just the fourth defenseman in Whalers/Hurricanes history to record a hat trick, and the first since Joe Corvo scored three times against the Senators almost nine years to the day. He was also the fourth defenseman in franchise history to score four points in a game. The Hurricanes ended the night with an 8-4 victory. Along with the multi-goal games from Slavin, Skinner, and Justin Faulk, Jordan Staal and Noah Hanifin added a pair of assists each.
The Aftermath
The Islanders would return the favor the following night in Raleigh, beating the Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime at PNC Arena. Joakim Nordstrom for the second straight night and Elias Lindholm added another, but the Islanders scored three unanswered goals, getting the winner in overtime from John Tavares. Jaccob Slavin, Jeff Skinner, and Justin Faulk would all be held scoreless in the loss.
The overtime loss extended the Canes' point streak to four games during what would become a then-franchise record 13-game point streak for the team. The Canes would go 9-0-4 during this stretch, outscoring their opponents 46-31. By the end of the streak, Carolina had climbed to within four points of the final playoff spot, but a 1-4-1 finish to the season prevented them from getting any closer. The Islanders would also fall short in their pursuit of the playoffs. Despite winning their last six games of the season, New York finished one point behind the Maple Leafs for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Skinner was incendiary down the stretch for the Canes. Beginning with their 8-4 win on Long Island, Skinner scored 16 goals and 20 points in the final 17 games of the season, including five multi-goal contests. His 37 goals were 13 more than the next closest teammate, who happened to be rookie Sebastian Aho. Skinner played one more season with the Hurricanes, scoring 24 goals and 49 points in 2017-18 before being dealt to the Buffalo Sabres.
Faulk would go on to score a career-high 17 goals during the 2016-17 season, tying him for second among all defensemen in the league. He would stick around for a few more seasons, helping the Hurricanes break their postseason drought in 2019 and scoring one of the most iconic postseason goals in franchise history during the team's second-round meeting with the Islanders. Faulk was traded to St. Louis after that postseason run. Faulk scored a hat trick the following season, doing so naturally in a 7-4 win over the Kings that also featured a goal from Slavin and two from Skinner. He is the last Hurricanes defenseman to score a hat trick.
Through the years, Slavin's reputation has continued to grow as one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL. While he'll show flashes of offensive brilliance every once in a while, his defensive game is what helped earn his a long-term extension with the Hurricanes this offseason. While there are plenty of games ahead of him, Slavin has already asserted himself as one of the best defensemen in the franchise's history. The two-time and reigning Lady Byng winner has never scored more than eight goals in a season, but for one night in 2017, there wasn't a better shooter on the ice.
