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| Now that was a reason for Cole to high-five an official. (Getty Images) |
There are hat tricks, then there are natural hat tricks. And then there is the natural hat trick that Erik Cole of the Montreal Canadiens had on Friday night against the Ottawa Senators .
Cole scored three goals in the first 5:41 of the game to single-handedly cause the Senators to yank Craig Anderson in his return from a finger injury.
Now it's no record or anything. Far from it. I don't think anybody will ever match Bill Moisienko's three goals in 21 seconds ever again. But still, three goals in less than six minutes? In today's NHL? That's a feat.
Cole has quietly had a great season. Quiet only because of the season that Montreal has had, more or less forgettable. With the three goals in the opening period, he moved his total on the season to 30. He might have been the best free-agent signing last offseason by any team in the league.
Also interesting is that Cole became just the second American player in Canadiens history to score 30 goals in one season. The other? Max Pacioretty , who did it earlier this season.
It underscores a few other points other than being a great feat. The first is that the Canadiens aren't going to be an easy two points for anybody. They seem to be as dangerous a spoiler as there is right now, especially if Cole is going to stay in the zone that he's been in.
But more importantly it's time to bite some finger nails in Ottawa. By the end of the night they might only be two points up on ninth-place Buffalo. That's a far cry from battling with the Bruins for the Northeast lead a few weeks ago and the playoff spot they have held most of the season.
It would be such a kick in the gut if they lose that playoff position, but they're getting dangerously close to it and with the Sabres and Capitals playing so well now behind them, it becomes a distinct and scary proposition.
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