After missing five games from a hit in the first game of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Dallas Stars veteran forward Joe Pavelski returned to the lineup and recorded his first career four-goal game.
Although the 13-year veteran is not the team captain, he is their heart and soul, someone other players rally around. Even though the Stars won their first-round matchup against the Minnesota Wild, they did so without Pavelski’s presence.
Now that the puck has dropped for round two, Pavelski returned on Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken. Moreover, with his team down 4-2 heading into the third period, he completed his second career postseason hat trick (first in 2020) to get the Stars within a goal.
Then, less than three minutes later, he tipped in his fourth goal of the game to become the 39th player in NHL history to register four goals in a playoff game. Historically, at 38 years and 295 days, he is the oldest player to score four goals in a game.
Interestingly, the last player to score four goals in a game was a former Stars player Denis Guryanov on Aug. 20, 2020, in a 7-3 win over the Calgary Flames.
As the Stars and Kraken head into overtime locked up in a 4-4 tie, Pavelski has a chance at five goals, a feat unaccomplished in a playoff game since Mario Lemieux on Apr. 25, 1989, against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Related: 5 things we learned after the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs