On April 15, 1976, Marcel Dionne scored three goals in a 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins. It was game three of their quarter-final series and the hat trick helped the Los Angeles Kings take a 2-1 lead in the series. Unfortunately, the Bruins would ultimately win in seven.
It was just Marcel’s fifth career playoff game after missing the post season in his first four years with the Detroit Red Wings. He went without a goal in L.A.’s 2-0 sweep of the Atlanta Flames in the preliminary round and scored his first two career playoff goals in a game 2 win over the Bruins.
In game 3, Dionne scored at 16:17 of the first to tie the game 2-2 after Boston had taken an early 2-0 lead. He then scored 2:21 into the second with help from Butch Goring and Mike Corrigan. The third goal was scored at 2:51 of the third, assisted by Dave Hutchison. All three were scored on Boston goalie Gilles Gilbert.
Including regular season play, it was Marcel’s third and last hat trick against Boston. The first was with the Red Wings in the previous season and the second came earlier in the 1975-76 campaign. Over his career, it was the Red Wings and Washington Capitals that he most scored hatties against with four each.
If you’re looking to truly test your hockey trivia knowledge, take a 20 Question Hockey Trivia Quiz!
Bonus Trivia!