Pius Suter’s historic hat trick powers Blackhawks’ rout of Red Wings

Suter became the first Blackhawks player since 1933 to score his first three NHL goals all in one game.

Six games into his NHL career, Pius Suter looks like yet another brilliant find by the Blackhawks’ European professional scouting department.

As the Hawks slammed the Red Wings 6-2 on Sunday, Suter’s hat trick made him the first Blackhawks player since 1933 to score his first three NHL goals all in one game.

“I was happy to get the first one, finally. It made it easier,” Suter said. “After the second one, I felt like, ‘Yeah, you need to get the third.’ I had a few chances and finally it worked out.”

Before Suter’s eruption, Dominik Kubalik was the owner of the NHL’s the most recent rookie hat trick, having done so on Feb. 27 last season in Tampa. Fittingly, Suter and Kubalik are the most recent headliners in the Hawks’ long line of European imports.

Both of Suter’s first two goals came from driving the net hard and finding dirty pucks. But his third was a highlight-reel beauty, sniping a shot past Detroit goalie Jonathan Bernier from the left wing of a two-on-one rush with Patrick Kane.

“Today, [it was] great to see him break through offensively,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “I love that he was willing to shoot on that two-on-one; a lot of guys are just looking to give it to ‘Kaner.’ And it was a really good sign that he continues to be a guy to want to make a play himself.”

Even outside of Suter, the Hawks turned in a fantastic effort across the board, out-shooting the Wings 35-27 and pulling away decisively in the third period to complete the two-game series sweep.

“It does a lot,” said Connor Murphy, whose second-period goal turned the momentum permanently in the Hawks’ favor. “Even moreso than the win, [I liked] how we seemed to piece together our game a little better today.”