WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Kyle Connor scored a natural hat trick in the first period, sparking the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.
The left-winger's sixth career hat trick came in a span of 6:38, making it the third fastest in Jets-Thrashers' history.
According to ESPN Research, Connor's was the 30th natural hat trick within the first 14 minutes of a game in NHL history. And it was the second-fastest natural hat trick from the start of the game in franchise history, trailing the 11:24 effort by former forward Sean Monahan on Feb. 19, 2024, against the Calgary Flames.
"It was just kind of being in the right spot," Connor said after the win. "It was one of those in that the bounces seemed to be going the right way, especially early."
Connor's third goal came on a breakaway, when he deked in front of Vancouver goaltender Kevin Lankinen and sent the puck around Lankinen's outstretched stick. The feat seemed to deflate the Canucks, who were outshot 20-10 in the second period.
"I actually didn't mind our first [period], but three big mistakes ended up in the net," Vancouver coach Rich Tocchet said. "It's a good hockey club over there, and obviously, we'd say that everyone on our team had a tough night."
Mark Scheifele, Neal Pionk and Nino Niederreiter each had a goal and assist for the Jets, who are the first team to hit 30 wins this season.
Gabriel Vilardi recorded three assists and Cole Perfetti added a pair to give him 100 NHL career points.
Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves to pick up his league-leading 27th win of the season for Winnipeg, which is 3-1-2 in its season-long, eight-game homestand.
Nils Hoglander scored a third-period goal for the Canucks, who finished a five-game road trip, going 1-2-2. Lankinen stopped 27 shots for Vancouver.
"It's tough when you go down 3-0 after one [period], and obviously, it was 5-0 after two," Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes said. "Obviously, this is a disappointing result."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.