Nashville Predators’ forward Viktor Arvidsson had a night to remember Monday. Arvidsson, playing in his first full NHL season and his first playoff campaign, recorded his first career NHL playoff goal Monday night in overtime against the San Jose Sharks to force that series to seven games. Here’s his goal, which came on an impressive backhander, off a rush where he was alone in the offensive zone against three Sharks:
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/729883676465610752
This one came only a couple of minutes into the first overtime, a sharp contrast to the teams’ previous triple-overtime clash in Thursday’s Game Four, which was also won by Nashville. (At least this one wasn’t missed by thousands of Canadians thanks to cable box updates.) It was a vital goal to keep the Predators’ playoff run alive, but it didn’t produce as much of a reaction from the bench:
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/729883912336461824
It will be a highly-memorable goal for Arvidsson, and his story to this point’s remarkable. Arvidsson won the Swedish championship twice with Skellefteå AIK, but was passed over in numerous NHL drafts thanks to concerns about his 5’9”, 172-pound frame. After the goal, CNBC broadcast commentators Chris Cuthbert and Joe Micheletti discussed how Arvidsson wasn’t even on the NHL database ahead of the 2014 draft, forcing the Predators to get him included before they took him in the fourth round (112th overall). He led their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, in scoring last season with 22 goals and 33 assists, and he impressed in stints with the Predators this year, earning 56 games with the big club. He only scored eight goals and added eight assists at the NHL level this year, though, and only had one assist through 12 playoff games before Monday night. This one might be a breakthrough moment for him, but his teammates might want to be more careful with how they celebrate with him going forward…
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/729886624046325760
