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Joe Pavelski’s four-goal game got a special nickname on Hockey Twitter 🐔

By Chris Cerullo

 2 Comments

May 3, 2023 11:36 am

Tuesday night saw a thrilling opener in the second-round series between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken. The Kraken ended up 5-4 winners in overtime but the story of the night belonged to veteran Stars forward Joe Pavelski.

The 38-year-old American returned to Dallas’ lineup after two weeks out with an injury and promptly scored all four of the team’s goals in the loss. The standout performance earned Pavelski praise across the hockey media landscape.

It also got christened with an, uh, rather interesting nickname.

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Pavelski’s hatty was nicknamed “The Dick Trick” by Hockey Twitter. The origin of the nickname was inspired by Pavelski’s time as a member of the San Jose Sharks during the 2013-14 season.

Then rookie forward Tomas Hertl put four goals past the New York Rangers and his fourth came on a ridiculously pretty, between-the-legs strike past netminder Martin Biron.

The highlight-reel tally sparked conversations about potential showboating in the Sharks locker room postgame. Joe Thornton took exception to that discussion and responded in turn with some colorful language.

Per The Province:

Hearing a question to Marleau about Hertl and whether he was showboating, Thornton said:

“Shut up, have you ever played the game?”

When the press turned his way, he then added:

“I’d have my cock out if I scored four goals. I’d have my cock out, stroking it.”

Pavelski secured his historic milestone with less than seven minutes remaining in the third period with Seattle up 4-3. Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpää attempted to slide a puck to Pavelski in front of the net but it ramped off a Kraken defender’s stick into the air.

That made the chance more difficult for Pavelski but clearly not impossible as he still batted the biscuit out of mid-air past Philipp Grubauer. Fantastic commentary on the goal provided by ESPN’s Bob Wischusen.

Pavelski was making his return after taking a clobbering hit from Minnesota’s Matt Dumba in Game One of the first round.

At the prime age of 38 years and 295 days, Pavelski became the oldest player in NHL history to record a four-goal game in either the regular season or playoffs. Before he scored his fourth on the night, he also became the second-oldest player to record a hat trick in the playoffs. Boston’s Johnny Bucyk (38 years and 344 days) holds that record, setting it on April 21, 1974, vs the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pavelski’s 68 career postseason tallies and his 130 total playoff points lead all players still in this year’s playoffs. Those 68 goals trail only Sidney Crosby (71) and Alex Ovechkin (72) among all active players.

The Stars will host the Kraken again for Game Two on Thursday. Puck drop for that matchup is at 9:30 pm ET.

Screenshot via ESPN

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