Justin Brazeau’s true feelings as he scored his first career hat trick in the Blackhawks’ win

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Justin Brazeau reached a major milestone on Sunday, scoring the first hat trick of his NHL career in a convincing 7-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

Reacting to his achievement after the win, Brazo expressed his excitement.

“Obviously a pretty cool feeling,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had one of those, so it feels a little weird, but obviously a good feeling for me.”

The 27-year-old had a breakout season. Signed to a two-year, one-way NHL contract in the offseason, he now has 11 goals in 23 games, matching his career high set in 76 games last season. Along with seven assists, he has 18 points, which improved on last season’s totals of 22 and 20 points in the previous campaigns. His plus-minus rating of +3 demonstrates his growing two-way impact, an improvement over last year’s -9 mark.

Brazeau’s milestone puts him in rare company. He is the fourth undrafted player in the last 30 years to record a hat trick for the Penguins, joining Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis and Evan Rodriguez.

The game got off to a quick start for Pittsburgh. Anthony Manta opened the scoring at 1:38 of the first period with a turnover after Chicago defenseman Wyatt Kaiser failed to clear the puck. Brian Rust quickly followed with a wrist shot from the left side, assisted by Sidney Crosby, to make it 2-0. Brazeau then scored his first goal at 8:20 off a pass from Manta behind the net, giving the Penguins a 3-0 lead. Rust added his second at 12:03, chasing Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight out of the game and forcing a turnover on Arvid Soderblom.

Brazeau’s second and third goals came in quick succession in the second period. On the power play, he converted a forehand-backhand shot from Ben Kindel’s pass to make it 5-1 at 12:20. Just 57 seconds later, he headed in a shot from Connor Dewar to complete the hat trick, giving him three goals on three shots for a perfect shooting night. Brazeau’s goal contributed to Pittsburgh’s best offensive output of the season, a welcome boost after a challenging stretch in December that saw the team go 1-5-4 in 10 games.

Other contributors for the Penguins included Rust with two goals, Manta with a goal and an assist, Ryan Shea with three assists and Noel Acciari and Blake Lizotte adding insurance points. Sidney Crosby recorded an assist, giving him 1,726 career points and tying him with Gordie Howe for ninth on the NHL’s all-time list.

Meanwhile, Chicago extended its losing streak to seven games. Nick Foligno, back from a 19-game injury layoff, scored Chicago’s first goal, while Tyler Bertucci and Wyatt Kaiser added late scores. Pittsburgh goaltender Arthur Silows stopped 21 of 24 shots to secure the win.