Andreas Johnsson records first-period hat trick vs. Flyers

12 minutes and 20 seconds; the amount of time it took Andreas Johnsson to net a hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

The 24-year-old forward chased his former teammate and goaltender Calvin Pickard with a first-period hat trick at Scotiabank Arena. It was the first hat trick of his NHL career. He went five-hole on all three of the goals.

Johnsson becomes the first Maple Leafs player to record three goals in one period since Tyler Bozak accomplished the feat on December 21, 2015 against the Colorado Avalanche.

After the first period, Johnsson was asked by Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas where his confidence is at.

“I’d say about a 6/10,” Johnsson said. “I’ve been feeling good and skating hard, but I feel like the last touches, last passes and last shot have been a struggle so far. It feels nice to score a couple goals.”

It was an explosive first period for the Leafs, who scored four goals on 11 shots. It was also the return of James van Riemsdyk, who was traded to Philadelphia for Luke Schenn in 2013.

Johnsson had two goals in 18 games entering play Saturday and and Leafs would love to get him going with Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the sidelines.

You won’t see many better first-period performances this season.