Tyler Bertuzzi Scores Hat Trick; Maple Leafs Win Seventh Straight

Toronto forward Tyler Bertuzzi gave himself a nice 29th birthday present in the Maple Leafs’ February 24th game at Colorado. Bertuzzi scored three goals to lead Toronto to a 4-3 win over the Avalanche. According to ESPN’s Department of Obscure Statistics (there really isn’t such a thing called that but there should be), this is just the fourth time an NHL player has scored a hat trick on his birthday.

Mitchell Marner scored the other Toronto goal. Auston Matthews, the leading goal scorer in the NHL who has been red hot as of late, didn’t add one to his league leading 52, but he did have his 25th assist of the season. William Nylander had three assists for the Leafs.

https://youtu.be/BRyeaIW7qG4

The win was the seventh straight for the Maple Leafs, who are 12-3 since January 18th. Toronto is third in the Atlantic Division and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference. The Maple Leafs trail the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers in the East. They will host the Rangers on March 2nd and the Bruins on March 4th, before playing at Boston on March 7th. They also have two games left with Florida, both in April.