Ryan Hartman of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates with teammates after the Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators 5-2 with a hat trick in the third period by Hartman at the United Center on January 8, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images) Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman notched an interesting natural hat trick that included two empty-net goals in his Sunday game against the Nashville Predators.
The hat trick was the first of the 22-year-old Hartman’s NHL career and gave him 10 goals in 38 games this season.
“It was a pretty remarkable way of scoring three goals in a short amount of time without really making a play on the goaltender,” coach Joel Quenneville said.
Hartman’s first goal, which wasn’t scored into an empty net, came with 8:11 left in the third period. The puck hit him off a scrum in front of the Predators net and went behind Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne to put Chicago up 3-2. A goal review was initiated by the NHL situation room, but the play ultimately stood because the league*said the puck*“deflected” off Hartman’s body.

The NHL*used rule 78.4 as part of the explanation, adding, “If an attacking player has the puck deflect into the net, off his skate or body, in any manner, the goal shall be allowed.”
Hartman’s second goal didn’t initially appear to be his since it seemed Panik touched it before it went into the net.*But the goal was determined to be Hartman’s and put the Blackhawks ahead 4-2, which set the stage for his final tally of the night.
“It was a skating race with (Nashville’s) guy and the puck was going straight to the net, so my first thought was, ‘I can’t take this (goal) from (Hartman),'” Panik said of why he didn’t touch the puck.

Hartman fired the puck into the Predators empty net from the neutral zone, leaving no doubt about the authenticity of the goal, or whether it was his.

“It’s not really how you draw it up, but they count,” Hartman said of his empty netters. “I don’t think anyone is going to remember that in a couple days.”
The victory for the Central Division leading Blackhawks pushed them to 57 points on the season, while the loss by Predators, a preseason Stanley Cup contender, continued their uneven 2016-17. Their 41 points are three back of the Los Angeles Kings for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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