Evgeni Malkin scores 12th career hat trick

Evgeni Malkin scores goals in bunches.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star has over 350 goals in his career, so it should come as no surprise that he is among the league leaders in hat tricks since debuting in the NHL in 2006. On Tuesday, Malkin scored three times in Pittsburgh's 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks to add to his hat trick total.

Malkin has scored three or more goals 12 times in regular season games, which is second among all NHL players since he played his first game in the league during the 2006-07 season. Only Alexander Ovechkin, with 19 hat tricks in that same span, has more.

Evgeni Malkin of the @Penguins scored his 12th career regular-season hat trick, the second-most in the NHL since making his League debut in 2006-07. #NHLStats #SJSvsPIT pic.twitter.com/SDhp7fcMRz
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 31, 2018

With the Penguins trailing 2-1, Malkin got his first of Tuesday's goals just seconds before the buzzer sounded to end the second period. His one-timer to equalize sparked a four-goal run by Pittsburgh that eventually won the game, with Malkin accounting for three on his own. His second of the night was a similar opportunistic goal off a centering pass from a teammate, while his third was a quick shot from the slot into a empty net to seal the victory.

All three @emalkin71geno goals! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/BowyeJnQPV
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) January 31, 2018

Malkin has scored 26 goals in 48 games this season