On this date in Penguins history: Natural hat-trick sends Flyers packing

Four years ago today, Jake Guentzel staked his claim to being a Flyers killer in the postseason — and did so in dramatic fashion.

Flash back to the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the Penguins were looking to make it three championships in a row.

Pittsburgh’s opponent? Cross-state rival Philadelphia, with the two teams meeting in the playoffs for the first time since the ugly postseason matchup in 2012.

The Pens stormed out to a 1-0 series lead with a 7-0 win, but the Flyers didn’t go away quietly, clawing back with a 5-1 win in Game 2.

Two big wins in the next two games for the Pens put the Flyers on the ropes, but they were able to force a Game 6 — and that Game 6 would be a wild one.

Sean Couturier would play in the game on a torn MCL and manage to put up a hat-trick against the Pens — but his hat-trick wasn’t the best of the day, as Jake Guentzel notched a natural hat-trick in the 3rd period.

This included two goals in 10 seconds to extend the Penguins lead from 5-4 to 7-4, all but sealing the victory for Pittsburgh.

The Pens would then have a matchup with the Caps for the third year in a row, this time falling to Washington, who went on to win the organization’s first Stanley Cup.