Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Video: Wild steal one from Caps thanks to Suter’s hat trick

ryansutergetty

James OBrien

Ryan Suter might just rank as the clearest no-brainer to make the U.S. Olympic team, yet “wicked shot” probably isn’t prominently on his resume. Still, he made the most of his attempts on Saturday, as his hat trick powered a 5-3 win for the Minnesota Wild against the Washington Capitals.

The Wild only managed a franchise-low 11 shots on goal overall, so there’s something fitting about Suter’s hat trick coming on his only three shots on goal.

He became the first Wild defenseman with a hat trick and it was the first hat trick of his NHL career, according to various onlookers (we’ll clarify if this isn’t true).

His first tally almost seemed to feature Shea Weber-like power:

The second (also on the power-play) was more about accuracy and timing, which is more expected from the 28-year-old:

Finally, he made it 5-3 with this snap shot:

Suter & Co. didn’t get a ton of chances on Saturday, but they obviously made the most of them.

The Wild blueliner seemed as surprised as anyone by his output, as he told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Michael Russo.

“I can’t get this smile off my face,” Suter said. “I can’t even score two goals in summer hockey.”

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins