Eric Robinson hopes hat trick sparks scoring breakout

BUFFALO, N.Y. ― Saying it’d been a while since Eric Robinson’s last hat trick is putting it mildly. 

Despite scoring twice in a game on two previous occasions during an NHL career that spans five-plus seasons, the 27-year old Blue Jackets forward hadn’t lit the goal lamp three times in a game since his youth. He’d never made hats fly at Princeton, either, so Robinson began dreaming a little Tuesday night at KeyBank Arena — where he scored two goals before the third period in the Jacket’s 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. 

“It’s kind of natural to think that,” Robinson said, “but it’s been at least 12 or 15 years since I’ve had one, so it doesn’t come naturally … that’s for sure.”

His first NHL hat trick wasn’t natural either. 

Robinson’s three goals weren’t scored consecutively, which constitutes a “natural hat trick,” but that was of little concern or consequence. All Robinson cared about afterward was freeing his sore feet from the tightness of his skates and savoring his sixth, seventh and eight goals of the season on the flight home.