Forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard did a great job on Tuesday night in Tampa, scoring his first career goal in the National Hockey League (NHL) in his initial game. For a Quebecer playing with the Montreal Canadiens, the scene becomes all the more striking.
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“An incredible feeling,” said Harvey-Pinard himself, noting having had “chills” and experienced “a lot of emotions” after accommodating the puck behind goaltender Maxime Lagacé, of the Tampa Bay Lightning, at the start of the match. second period.
The most loyal fans of the CH will perhaps remember the last Quebecer to score in his first NHL game with the Montreal club. On January 3, 2006, Jonathan Ferland then beat Marc-André Fleury, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a 6-4 loss to the Habs at the Bell Center. Despite the setback, he had the pleasure of scoring in front of several members of his family in Montreal.
Among the greatest players of the Canadian, it should be remembered that Yvan Cournoyer had also scored a goal in his first game, November 28, 1963, in a victory of 7 to 3 against the Red Wings in Detroit.
The fastest?
A native of Montreal, Odie Cleghorn was the fastest in Canadiens history to score his first NHL goal. He only needed 60 seconds on Dec. 21, 1918, to score in a 5-2 loss to his brother Sprague and the Ottawa Senators.
More recently, Maxime Comtois, of the Anaheim Ducks, became the Quebecer to hit the target fastest in his first game, having achieved the feat after just 49 seconds. He had indeed deceived the vigilance of goalkeeper Martin Jones, of the Sharks, from the first minute of play in a game played on October 3, 2018 in San Jose.
Across the NHL, the earliest goal record, still in his first game, belongs to Ontario’s Gus Bodnar of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who hit the target after just 15 seconds on October 30, 1943. Bodnar had even kicked off his career with a brace that day in a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers.