Timo Meier chomps on L.A. Kings with first-period hat trick
Timo nets first-period hat trick, adds fourth goal in second originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The early start time to Monday's game between the Sharks and Los Angeles Kings didn't seem to bother Timo Meier.
The Sharks' lone 2021-22 NHL All-Star representative recorded a first-period hat trick in the matinee at SAP Center, and then added two more in the second period to become the first player in San Jose history with five goals in a game.
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Meier got the scoring started just three minutes into the contest, beating Jonathan Quick on the power play after a sweet cross-ice pass from Brent Burns.
Rudolfs Balcers gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead nearly 16 minutes into the period, and less than three minutes later, Meier lit the lamp again.
Meier corralled a rebound, spun and snuck the puck past Quick.
Just 21 seconds later, Meier got the hat trick, giving the Sharks a 4-0 lead.
It had been more than two years since a Sharks player recorded a first-period hat trick.
Kings star Anze Kopitar scored at 19:44 to get the Kings on the board, but Meier already put LA in a deep hole.
Meier wasn't done, though. Just 84 seconds into the second period, Meier added a fourth goal of the game, becoming the first Sharks player with four markers in a game since Evander Kane on March, 16, 2018.
Meier's fifth goal of the game came at 19:32 in the second period, making him the 10th player in NHL history to score five goals in the first two periods of a game and the first since Washington Capitals star Peter Bondra on Feb. 5, 1994 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, per Darin Stephen via Sportsradar.
Meier now is up to 20 goals on the season, moving into a tie with Tomas Hertl for the Sharks lead, and has a team-leading 45 points after his five-goal barrage.
There's a reason Meier is headed to Las Vegas for the All-Star Game in February, and he showed exactly why during the first 20 minutes Monday.
