Another natural hat trick for Panthers winger Brady Tkachuk, Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane sets a record for American-born players, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPS OF THURSDAY’S GAMES

NHL.COM: Florida Panthers winger Brady Tkachuk became the first NHL player since 1986 to score back-to-back natural hat tricks as he rallied his club from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Seth Jones assisted on two of Tkachuk’s goals for the 4-2-2 Panthers. Goaltender Leevi Merilainen stopped 36 shots, and winger Liam Ohgren and defenseman Elias Pettersson scored for the Canucks, who dropped to 2-6-1.

Florida Panthers winger Brady Tkachuk (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tkachuk joins Petri Skriko (1986) and Cy Denneny (1923) as the only players in league history to record consecutive natural hat tricks.

Patrick Kane collected two assists and Artyom Levshunov scored in overtime as the Chicago Blackhawks nipped the Winnipeg Jets 4-3. Connor Bedard scored his first goal of the season and picked up an assist while Spencer Knight made 31 saves for the 3-5-0 Blackhawks. Neal Pionk had a goal and two assists for the Jets (4-1-2).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kane has 896 career NHL regular-season assists, passing Phil Housley (894) for the most by an American-born player. Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram missed this game as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Jets blueliner Josh Morrissey is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, but he doesn’t require surgery.

Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy had a hat trick and an assist in a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues. Karill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists for the Wild, who improved to 5-2-1. Cam Fowler collected three assists, and Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist for the 3-3-1 Blues.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Boldy’s fifth career hat trick. Wild blueliner Quinn Hughes had two assists to extend his assist streak to eight games.

The Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on an overtime goal by Owen Power. Jack Quinn had two goals and two assists for the Sabres (4-3-1). Kirill Marchenko tallied a hat trick for the 3-3-2 Maple Leafs.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maple Leafs center John Tavares left the game in the third period following a collision with Sabres center Josh Norris.

Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna was benched from the middle of the second period onward. Head coach Jim Hiller explained the Leafs went through a stretch where McKenna sat for a lengthy period as the club was killing penalties. McKenna is not part of the Leafs’ penalty killing unit. Nevertheless, the decision was confusing, prompting speculation that Hiller either mismanaged his bench or may have had an issue with McKenna’s play.

Earlier in the day, the Maple Leafs announced defenseman Chris Tanev is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. They also made a minor trade, acquiring center Aatu Raty from the Canucks in exchange for forward Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr.

Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone had a hat trick to lead his club over the Calgary Flames 6-2. Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists, and Ivan Barbashev set up three goals for the Golden Knights (7-2-0), who hold first place in the overall standings with 14 points. Jake Middleton and Matt Coronato replied for the 1-6-0 Flames.

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark turned aside 20 shots to backstop his club to a 2-1 shootout win over the New York Islanders. Shane Pinto scored the winning goal, and Ridly Greig scored the tying goal for the 6-2-0 Senators, who’ve won four of their last five games and hold first place in the Atlantic Division with 12 points. Matias Maccelli scored for the 3-3-1 Islanders.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t pleased with his club’s performance, benching forwards Calum Ritchie and Anthony Duclair for the second half of the third period. Before the game, the Senators announced that winger William Eklund underwent surgery to repair a torn ankle tendon and will be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks.

An overtime goal by Victor Hedman lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Seattle Kraken 4-3. Brandon Hagel scored two goals for the Lightning (5-2-0). Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves, and Matty Beniers scored to send the game into overtime for the 5-2-1 Kraken.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour left this game with a lower-body injury. There was no postgame update on his condition.

The New Jersey Devils crushed the New York Rangers 7-1. Defenseman Luke Hughes scored twice for his first multi-goal NHL game as the Devils improved to 4-3-0. Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand was replaced by Seth Martin after giving up four goals on 13 shots as the Blueshirts dropped to 6-3-0.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford Wolfpack signed veteran goaltender James Reimer to a professional tryout offer. It remains to be seen if he’ll eventually move up into the Rangers’ lineup.

Detroit Red Wings forward Andrew Copp snapped a 1-1 tie to give his club a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Anton Johansson also scored for the 2-3-2 Red Wings. Matvei Michkov scored for the Flyers, who remain winless in their first nine games (0-6-3).

Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller tallied twice to lead his club over the Edmonton Oilers 4-2. Logan Cooley had a goal and an assist, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots for the 6-2-0 Mammoth, who’ve won three straight games to move up into first place in the Central Division with 12 points. Leon Draisaitl and Shakir Mukhamadullin replied for the 5-1-1 Oilers.

The San Jose Sharks downed the Nashville Predators 3-2 on a shootout goal by Macklin Celebrini. Alex Nedeljkovic kicked out 32 shots for the win as the Sharks improved to 4-3-0. Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos scored third-period goals to force overtime for the 2-2-3 Predators.

IN OTHER NEWS…

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The Stars signed free-agent forward David Perron to a one-year, prorated contract worth $850,000.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Stars are trying to bolster their forward depth and improve an offense that ranks 30th this season.

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Anaheim Ducks captain Mikael Granlund could miss Friday’s game against the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury.

SPORTSNET: Arizona State University hired Colorado Avalanche assistant coach Dave Hakstol to lead its men’s hockey team as the school continues to investigate a training camp workout that left St. Louis Blues prospect Matthew Mayich on life support.

Hakstol replaces Greg Power, who stepped down as ASU head coach. The Avalanche named Brett McLean as Hakstol’s replacement.