Talk about a wild way to kick off the holiday break.
Just hours apart, Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard and Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras both scored identical lacrosse-style goals on Saturday evening.
It’s the first time the move has been successfully pulled off twice in a single night in NHL history.
Bedard pulled it off just under four minutes into the first period against St. Louis. At the time, the Blues were in control with an early 1-0 lead. It’s Bedard’s first successful Michigan goal, and the second right-handed NHLer behind Filip Forsberg to do so.
Then, late in a game against the Seattle Kraken, Zegras went behind the net and pulled off one of the fastest Michigan attempts we’ve seen. It was his first game back following a 20-game absence for a lower-body injury, and it’s his second goal of the season. The goal cut Seattle’s advantage to 3-2 with just over five minutes to go.
It’s also Zegras’ fourth career Michigan, successfully pulling it off against Arizona and Minnesota in the past. No NHLer has scored in that fashion more.
Both goals come in the final night before the NHL Christmas break from Dec. 24-26.
Andrei Svechnikov was the first to successfully pull it off in an NHL game, scoring on Calgary Flames goalkeeper David Rittich back in October of 2019. Two months later, Svechnikov did the same against Connor Hellebuyck. Zegras attempted to score on a lacrosse move for his first NHL goal, but instead would find the back of the net against Montreal, Arizona and St. Louis over the past few seasons. Filip Forsberg also tallied one back in January of 2020, beating Edmonton Oilers keeper Mike Smith.
More must-reads: