Penguins Rookie Reacts After Scoring His First NHL Goal - and It's Shorthanded
Photo credit: Edit from The Sharon Herald
Penguins rookie Filip Hallander finally scored his first-ever NHL goal and did so shorthanded, too; he reacted after the game about this emotional moment.
Filip Hallander potted his first NHL goal to ignite a third-period comeback as the Pittsburgh Penguins came from behind to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 on Thursday night.
Playing in just the seventh game of his NHL career, Hallander hammered in Rickard Rakell's rebound for a short-handed tally at 6:50 of the third, putting Pittsburgh in its first lead of the night and up 3-2.
The Kings Blew a 2 Goal Lead for Their 3rd Consecutive Loss
The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period on goals by Warren Foegele and Kevin Fiala, but the Penguins responded with a two-goal flurry in 41 seconds in the second to tie the game.
The Penguins' momentum began when Malkin started the comeback with a power-play goal to pave the way for Hallander's historic moment. He reacted after the game about this special moment.
"It feels good. I was waiting for it," said Hallander. "It wasn't pretty, but it was very important, so it was fun (Rickard Rackell) got a good shot away. I had an open net on the first rebound, missed that, and then I just jammed the puck all I could."
The night was also one of historic significance for the soul and heart of Pittsburgh, as Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang both played their 1,000th game as a pair, the seventh forward-defenseman duo in NHL history to do so. Crosby sealed the win with an empty-netter.
Despite a good beginning, Los Angeles was defensively-minded and gave dearly in terms of penalties.
Losing captain Anze Kopitar and without netminder Darcy Kuemper, the Kings dropped their third consecutive game, and Anton Forsberg stopped 22 shots.
The Penguins cap their California trip in San Jose on Saturday, while the Kings try to bounce back by hosting Carolina on the same night.
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