Dallas Stars’ Wyatt Johnston has made historical past, changing into the youngest player ever to score a series-clinching purpose in a Game 7. Johnston, at twenty years and 1 day outdated, surpassed Pittsburgh Penguins legend, Jaromir Jagr, who scored the successful purpose in the 1992 Division Semifinals at twenty years and 76 days outdated. Johnston’s fantastic feat happened all through the Stars’ 5-2 win in opposition to the Seattle Kraken on May fifteenth, 2023.
Not handiest did the win mark historical past, nevertheless it additionally secured Dallas’ position in the ultimate 4, marking the first time that the NHL’s ultimate 4 were performed amongst groups south of Pennsylvania. Johnston’s purpose was once the icing on the cake for the Stars, who’ve noticed the younger ahead step up and shine during the playoffs, centering a line with Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov, and totaling 4 targets and two assists in 13 playoff video games thus far.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting to see this level of excellence from a kid who just turned 20 on Sunday,” stated Dane Lewis of Locked on Stars. “This kid is still, in a lot of ways, finding his footing in the NHL, but it seems like he’s very comfortable performing at the highest professional level and even higher than that – in the playoffs of the most prestigious hockey league on the planet.”
Even Johnston’s trainer, Pete DeBoer, was once in awe of the purpose. “What a goal,” DeBoer stated, according to NHL.com. “It’s not just a goal . . . it’s hard to explain. I don’t know how many players would think of doing that, never mind pull it off and score like that on that play. It’s an elite, world-class play by one of the youngest players in the league.”
Interestingly, Johnston was once no longer named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded every year to the easiest rookie in the NHL. Instead, the award went to Matty Beniers in Seattle, who deservedly recorded two targets and 4 assists in the seven-game series in opposition to the Stars. But, Johnston scored 3 targets in the series, along with his ultimate strike serving as the series decider.
It’s transparent that Johnston is a younger skill with a shiny long term forward of him. As the Stars transfer ahead to the convention finals, Johnston will no doubt proceed to play a necessary function of their good fortune. Fans can keep up-to-date with day by day podcasts on their favourite NHL groups, together with the Dallas Stars, by the use of Locked On.
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