The NHL named Cutter Gauthier its First Star of the Week on 9 November after the Anaheim Ducks forward led the league with eight goals in four games. The award covered a week in which Anaheim kept winning and Gauthier finished with another hat trick.
Gauthier's scoring run wins league recognition
The NHL's award release says Gauthier recorded two hat tricks and three game-winning goals across the award week. Anaheim won every game it played in November up to the announcement, moving into third place in the Pacific Division. Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils was named Second Star, while Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros took Third Star.
Gauthier's final game of the award period brought his latest hat trick against Pittsburgh. The NHL's 9 November game report says he scored three times in Anaheim's 5-2 win over the Penguins. His first two goals pushed the Ducks ahead before an empty-net finish completed the hat trick. The same report says he also assisted on another goal.
Anaheim Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier told NHL.com after the game, “I'm just shooting the puck and they're going in, so I'm just going to keep shooting it.”
How the Penguins game fits the award week
SportsRivo compared the NHL's award announcement with its Penguins game report. The award record totals Gauthier's four-game week; the recap shows that the Pittsburgh hat trick completed it. His earlier hat trick against Vancouver also fell within the award period, while the separate earlier hat trick against Ottawa did not.
The NHL says the Pittsburgh performance made Gauthier the seventh player in its modern era to produce three hat tricks within five games. That record is distinct from the weekly award: the league's selection covered four games, while the hat-trick streak spans five.
What the award reflects
- Gauthier leads the NHL's weekly Three Stars after a league-best scoring return for the award period.
- Anaheim entered the announcement on a winning run and had climbed to third in the Pacific Division.
- His Pittsburgh hat trick extended a goal streak that the game report says reached six games.
Nashville visit follows
The Ducks say they will host the Nashville Predators on 11 November at Honda Center. It is Anaheim's next scheduled match after the award announcement.
Source: NHL Three Stars announcement