Watch: Roussel throws imaginary hat after notching 1st career hat trick

It took Antoine Roussel a long time to do it, but when it happened, he was ready.

The Dallas Stars forward registered the first hat trick of his NHL career Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, celebrating with an emphatic hat-tossing motion that the fans instantly obliged.

Roussel's first three-goal effort came in his 336th career game, and he became only the second French-born player to accomplish the feat, joining current Anaheim Ducks assistant coach Paul MacLean.

The celebration was almost as good as the goal itself, as was the reaction from Stars broadcaster Daryl Reaugh at the end of the sequence.

Doff your chapeaus, indeed.