Watch CBS News

First Career Hat Trick 'A Dream Come True' For Jimmy Hayes

BOSTON (CBS) -- For local boy Jimmy Hayes, Tuesday night was a dream come true.

Hayes, a Dorchester native, lit the lamp three times in Boston's 7-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators at the TD Garden -- his first career hat trick. It's a feat he mimicked countless times as a kid growing up in the shadows of the Boston Garden, but finally got to live for his hometown team.

"It's a dream come true – it's a pretty cool feeling," Hayes said after the win, which snapped a three-game losing streak for the Bruins. "I haven't been scoring many goals as of lately, it was nice to get some confidence going."

Hayes said his last hat trick came in the AHL a few years ago, but nothing can ever beat the feeling he experienced Tuesday.

"It's always fun to score a hat-trick in any league. To do it in the NHL for your hometown team is great," he said.

Hayes was the first player to find the back of the net on Tuesday, rushing to the net to grab a loose puck and put it by Craig Anderson 8:01 into the game's first frame. His second came on a beautiful no-look feed from Max Talbot with 4:11 left in the game, extending Boston's lead to 5-3. He added his third and final tally with just one second on the clock on another nice feed from Talbot, giving Boston fans the chance to send their hats to the ice.

Hayes said his teammates were trying to get him that third goal as the game was coming to a close, something Talbot confirmed in the locker room.

"I was jacked. I feel bad now because I celebrated too hard at the end, but we called it at the face-off. I was definitely looking for him, so I was glad that he got the hat-trick. You usually don't celebrate that hard at the end of a game like this but I was feeling emotional in that situation," Talbot said with a laugh.

"He's a guy who works really hard, he gets in the corners, he gets those loose pucks - he makes plays," Hayes said of his linemate. "He's got some skills that some people might not see, he makes small little plays and works hard around the net, which is where we want the puck to be."

Hayes scored his trio of goals in just 11:48 of ice time, giving him eight for the season. He's been inconsistent throughout his first year in Boston, going without a shot on goal in his two games prior. He was even a healthy scratch for a pair of games earlier in the month, and had just one goal in December before Tuesday's outburst.

Hayes found success Tuesday by going to the net, something he's been determined to do more consistently as of late. He's hoping that seeing all those hats on the TD Garden ice will open the floodgates going forward.

"Hopefully I can continue this momentum and put some more pucks in the net. It's not all about numbers; I need to contribute and be a presence on the ice and be effective, no matter if I'm scoring," he said. "We got guys on this team that are pure goal scorers that'll do a lot of scoring, but you always want to contribute and be a guy that can chip in. I can do it in this league, I've done it before, I want to continue to show the coach and my teammates that I can do it as well."

Hat-Trick
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

"It's just nice to see Jimmy produce and get a bit of a break there," said head coach Claude Julien. "He hasn't had much luck in the production area for a while. He played on a line that I thought played really well together and he was in the right place. We talked about him scoring some goals with his size and his strength, tight around the net and that's what he did tonight. So hopefully he sees that, builds on that and continues to produce for us."

"It's up to me, just got to continue to work hard and continue to find ways to contribute," Hayes added.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.