On November 24, 2008, Dubinsky scored a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Phoenix Coyotes. He squared off against the Coyotes' tough guy Daniel Carcillo protecting the Rangers' netminder Henrik Lundqvist at 2:58 into the first, taking a five-minute major penalty for fighting. He then scored a wraparound goal 1 minute 15 seconds into the second period (which ended up being the game winner). Dubinsky then finished the "Gordie" with an assist to Dan Girardi, who scored a power play goal from the blue line at 7:37 into the third period. The Rangers won the game 4–1 and Dubinsky along with Lundqvist and Zherdev were named the three stars. Ranger coach Tom Renney called the feat a "Gordie Orr hat trick" claiming that Dubinsky "didn't do that well in the fight".