PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – 6,202 days.
Entering Tuesday night, that’s how long it’d been since Jordan Staal last scored a goal in a Stanley Cup Final game. With his Carolina Hurricanes trailing by one in the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights, the wait finally ended for the 37-year-old forward.
Intercepting a pass at the blue line, Carolina defenseman K’Andre Miller sauced the puck to Staal as he cut into the Golden Knights’ zone. With a wicked wrist shot, he beat goaltender Carter Hart on the blocker side with a bid labeled for the top left corner of the net to halt Vegas’ momentum after it’d scored the last three tallies.
But it wasn’t just Staal who found the back of the net for his line. His linemate Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring with back-to-back goals, though Staal wasn’t credited with an assist on either of them.
“They were great. They had a tough matchup. They did their part for sure and gave us a chance. What more can you say?” Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour said postgame of Staal and his line’s performance in Game 1.
In his 20th NHL season and 14th in Carolina, Staal finished the regular season with 36 total points for the second consecutive year. In 14 playoff games this postseason, he’s collected three goals and six points, and has been a vital veteran presence for his team amid the franchise’s first run to the Cup Final since 2006.
If Staal were to end this Stanley Cup run hoisting the silver trophy, it would mark the longest wait of any player in NHL history between their first and second Stanley Cup wins (17 seasons).
“He’s been leading us the whole playoffs. Just watch how he’s playing, that’s all you have to see. He has an advantage. He’s a big man and this is a big man’s game. He’s dragging us into this for sure,” Brind'Amour said of Staal.
Before he made a name for himself in Carolina, Staal began his NHL career as a Penguin after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2006 NHL Draft. Following a heartbreaking loss in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings, Staal helped the Penguins exact their revenge the following year and capture the Cup for the first time since 1992.
Over six seasons, Staal racked up 248 points in 431 regular-season games and 36 points in 73 postseason games in Pittsburgh.
