PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Joining the likes of Mario Lemieux and Jake Guentzel—Radim Zohorna--as the Pens beat the Sabres 4-0 Thursday night. Zohorna is the latest on the list of Pens to score on their first NHL shot.
He did have to wait until a few shifts into his first period of his first game for a hard-working goal by his fourth line. Zohorna would end up with a perfect pass from Anthony Angello from behind the net into the slot and the Czech native with a top shelfer for his first NHL goal.
“It’s why I play hockey,” Zohorna said believing his family was able to watch back home in Europe. “The boys made me a dream.”
“There wasn’t a better person to score that goal for us,” said goalie Casey DeSmith. “That was the hardest I saw the bench celebrate after a goal this season. Even I was back there raising my hands up. I got so excited too.”
“You love seeing that,” said captain Sidney Crosby. “You know it’s his first game. You think back to those emotions and those feelings in your own first game. All the guys that have had memorable nights like that. To see him score in his first game and see that emotion. That’s a huge boost. It’s a great feeling on the bench when you see that.”
“So great,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “It was so great. It was a terrific goal first and fore most. It shows how good his hands are and his skill set. To see the emotion on his face and not just him, but our whole team. It’s really just a cool moment. Anytime a player gets their first NHL goal, I think everyone can relate to what that moment means.”
“Players never forget their first goal. I think it meant a lot to everybody. I think you could see it with the raw emotion on the bench.
Freddy Gaudreau would have the secondary assist, giving him points in consecutive nights.
McCann power
An early second period hooking call trying to defend Sidney Crosby got the Pens on the power play. Later in the opportunity, Crosby kept the puck in the zone, to Kris Letang who found Jared McCann in the middle as his shot went by a screened goalie for a 2-zip lead.
McCann power two
McCann would get another power play goal midway through the third period, again on a feed from Letang and another assist to Crosby. The seventh goal of the season for McCann, who finds himself on the power play due to the injury to Kasperi Kapanen that will keep him out a couple of weeks.
“Jared can score goals,” Sullivan said. “We’ve said that for a while now. He can score goals. He can really shoot the puck. He has a very deceptive release and he shoots it hard. I think at this particular time with the injuries we have, we are relying on him offensively.”
“When he scores. I think his confidence elevates and it helps him moving forward. You could see the burst of energy after he scored his first one.”
McCann did save a couple of thousand fans their hats by twice missing empty net opportunities late in the third.
1300 for Sid
An third assist on the night on an empty netter by Jake Guentzel got Sidney Crosby to 1300 career points. The eighth fastest to reach the milestone in NHL history.
“It’s a nice number,” Crosby said. “I wasn’t thinking about it a ton. I was glad to see Guentzel put one in.”
“It’s a sign that I’ve been playing for a pretty long time too. It’s always nice to get those milestones.”
Crosby now tied with short-time teammate Jarome Iginla for 35th place on the NHL all-time scoring list. Now 3 points behind number 34, Alexander Ovechkin.
DeSmith shines
Casey DeSmith with his second consecutive shutout against the Sabres, stopping 36 shots Thursday after stopping 24 shots on March 13. It’s DeSmith’s 8th win to go against 3 losses and the sixth shutout of his career.
“When you first come up, obviously there are more nerves,” DeSmith said of the change in his game. “I feel more comfortable now just because of experience. I worked hard on puck handling. I’m just comfortable around the team and have a lot of close buddies around the team.”
Sabres GM coaches
Due to interim head coach Don Granato and interim assistant coach Matt Ellis self-isolating, both were unavailable for Thursday’s game. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams was on the bench as the acting head coach for his team that started the day with a league worst 6 wins, the last victory February 23.
Up Next
The first place Islanders at PPG Paints Arena Saturday night. Pens are four points behind New York.