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Matt Duchene reflects on first hat trick: ‘Most fun I’ve had’

ducheneap

James

It’s bittersweet when a personal triumph gets washed away by defeat.

Matt Duchene’s first career hat trick (plus an assist) surely lost some of its luster because the Colorado Avalanche dropped a 7-6 OT thriller to the Dallas Stars. Still, Duchene didn’t deliver team-first platitudes after a rousing four-point performance.

“It’s too bad we lost,” Duchene said. "[But] it was hands down the most fun I’ve ever had playing a hockey game in my life.”

In the span of one game, Duchene slammed the door shut on those who worried about a mini-slump in which he was briefly demoted to the fourth line. Those four points were impressive enough - seriously, watch that third goal and let your jaw hit the floor - but he was an electric force all night.

In addition to the plays that showed up on the box score, he also earned Colorado a power play on what was just short of a penalty shot opportunity and had at least two other chances that could have been goals. The dynamic scorer used his world-class speed and creativity to carve up anyone the Stars sent his way.

Duchene came into Dallas with six points and finished with 10. Perhaps it was just a hot night or maybe playing left wing will continue to open up room for him to work his one-on-all magic, but if Duchene keeps having this much fun, opposing teams are going to be quite miserable.