By each getting their first career NHL goals in Tuesday's victory over the Calgary Flames, Reid Schaefer and Ozzy Wiesblatt gave the Nashville Predators and their fans something that's been tough to come by lately: hope.
It took Nashville Predators forward Reid Schaefer just three games to net his first career NHL goal. For Ozzy Wiesblatt, the wait was 28 games and numerous close calls.
When they each tasted the joy of lighting the lamp for the first time in the Predators’ 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena, Schaefer and Wiesblatt provided a glimmer of hope for what could be a brighter future than what the team has experienced over the past two seasons.
“They brought a lot of energy, a little bit of the youth movement injected bringing that kind of life to our group,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette said of Schaefer and Wiesblatt after the game. “They both played a pretty physical style of play (Tuesday). They got on the forecheck and kind of gave us a dimension that, especially with Smitty (Cole Smith) out, we were missing that relentless physicality.”
If scoring their first goals wasn’t enough, Schaefer and Wiesblatt each recorded their first NHL fight, adding to the energy Brunette was referring to. The only thing missing for the two young players was an assist, which would have given them the Gordie Howe hat trick: a goal, an assist and a fight.
Nonetheless, it was a night Schaefer and Wiesblatt will remember for a lifetime.
With his parents, grandparents and girlfriend looking on, Schaefer put in a rebound to get the Preds on the board first for a 1-0 lead.
“It was a lot of fun,” the 6-foot-4, 218-pound left winger said following the win. “Honestly, I kind of blacked out. It went in the net and I was like, ‘Oh, what do I do here?’ But, a pretty cool moment.”
Schaefer, who had 14 points in 15 games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals before making his NHL debut Friday in Chicago against the Blackhawks, finished the Calgary game logging 9:43 of ice time and the one shot on goal that went in the net.
For Wiesblatt, that first goal was a long time coming, and the moment was emotional in more ways than one. The 5-foot-10, 183-pound forward lost his brother, Orca, to a car accident this past September. After the puck went into the net for a 4-0 Preds lead late in the second period, Wiesblatt celebrated by pointing to the sky in honor of Orca. The Preds’ bench erupted.
“I've thought about pointing to the sky for my brother for a while now, and just a cool feeling,” Wiesblatt said. “And obviously, that one's for him, so just a huge relief for me.”
Wiesblatt, who finished the night with a +2 in 12:36 of ice time, has come close on several occasions to get that first tally this season. He alluded to that fact after the game.
“Just thinking, ‘It's about time,’” Wiesblatt said. “I feel like I've been all over it lately, and I've had so many chances this year to score, I've been robbed a ton. So, it's just a relief for me.”
Schaefer dropped the gloves with Brayden Pachal at 15:39 of the middle frame, with each player getting five-minute fighting majors. Not to be outdone, the scrappy Wiesblatt went at it with the Flames’ Blake Coleman at 6:42 of the third, with both players also receiving fighting majors.
Schaefer and Wiesblatt’s goals marked the fifth time in franchise history that multiple players scored their first career goal in the same game. The others: Jan. 9, 2020 (Colin Blackwell & Pekka Rinne), March 27, 2014 (Calle Jarnkrok & Colton Sissons), Oct. 15, 2008 (Patric Hornqvist & Ryan Jones) and Jan. 8, 2004 (Simon Gamache & Andrew Hutchinson).
As important as those goals were, it’s the energy both players bring to the ice that has been an asset to the Preds.
“You need that to be a good team in this League, contributions from everybody,” Preds forward Steven Stamkos said of the energy. “Obviously, guys are getting a little more opportunity each and every day because of the way that they're playing, and it's great to see them get rewarded.”
Speaking of Stamkos, the veterans weren’t left out of the night of milestones for the Predators. Stamkos picked up his 1,200th career NHL point in the victory, putting in a shot off an odd-man rush with Flames goaltender Devin Cooley out of position for a 2-0 lead at the 5:04 mark of the second period.
Jonathan Marchessault and Michael Bunting added their own tallies for the Preds, who climbed over Calgary to put themselves in next-to-last place in the overall NHL standings. After just eight wins in each of the season’s first two months, Nashville has won three of its last four games.
Schaefer and Wiesblatt aren’t the only young guns turning heads this season. After being recalled from Milwaukee in late October, Matthew Wood went on a tear in November. The 20-year-old winger led all NHL rookies in goals during the month (six) and tied for fourth in points (nine).
Wood, who scored on Friday at Chicago, also tallied his first career hat trick on Nov. 10 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Following his NHL debut in Chicago on Friday, Schaefer became the sixth rookie to appear in a game for the Predators this season, tied for the second-most in the NHL. The others: Joakim Kemell, Brady Martin, Wiesblatt, Adam Wilsby and Wood.
Along with the high moments, there will be growing pains throughout any youth movement. For one night, at least, Schaefer and Wiesblatt gave the Preds and their fans something that’s been tough to come by lately: hope.