Colorado Avalanche: All About Alexander Kerfoot’s 1st NHL Goal
Colorado Avalanche rookie scored his first NHL goal. It wasn’t a skill goal, but those are sure to come from the skilled player.
Colorado Avalanche rookie Alexander Kerfoot got off to the right foot (had to) on Wednesday night with his first NHL goal — and the first Avs goal of the season in Pepsi Center.
The play happened about midway through the first period. The Avs entered the Boston Bruins zone. Matt Duchene was high in the slot when the puck came to him. He passed it to Tyson Barrie, who had just entered the zone.
Kerfoot cut into the slot just as Barrie took the shot. As he was cutting by goalie
, he redirected the puck so it bounced over Rask’s shoulder and in.
Here’s how Kerfoot described the play:
"“It was a great play by Dutchy, getting into the zone and holding it up and giving it back to Tyse. I just drove to the net and was lucky that it banked off me. Yeah, it was a great play by them.”"
That’s a pretty typical hockey player response, by the way — giving all the credit to his teammates.
Coach Jared Bednar threw a little credit Kerfoot’s way during his post game presser:
"“He’s not scared to go to the hard areas to score and create plays. There’s a lot to like. He’s quickly earned the trust of the coaching staff.”"
It wasn’t the sexiest of goals because it literally bounced off of Kerfoot to go in. According to the man himself, the puck bounced off his “leg” to go in. (Hey,the great Jaromir Jagr recorded his 1,888th point to put him in second place for all-time scoring by bouncing the puck off his butt — that’s good company for Kerfy. By the way, that one went by Rask, too — you’d think he’d learn to track the butt.)
Needless to say, Alexander Kerfoot was on cloud nine after scoring that historic goal. He remarked that it was particularly special to record that goal on opening night in the Pepsi Center and added:
"“It obviously is a great feeling. I mean, it’s a dream to play in the NHL, and to get a goal is pretty special.”"
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Funnily enough, Kerfoot scored two goals in the preseason, and one of them went off his body, too. Kerfoot pointed out, “So two of the three goals so far haven’t touched my stick.”
Barrie and Duchene got assists on the opening night goal.
Alexander Kerfoot came into camp not exactly a shoe-in to make the team. However, he found instant chemistry with Duchene and Nail Yakupov. He’s been skating on a line with them pretty much since the first day of camp — and they’ve been on fire.
During his post-game presser, Matt Duchene — who was late to the celebration circle because he was fetching the puck for Kerfoot — said he’s trying to talk to Kerfoot a lot about adjusting to life in the NHL. He added:
"“He doesn’t need too much help, though. He’s playing outstanding. He’s had a great start to his career.”"
He went on to describe Kerfoot as a smart and skilled player.
Next: Avs Getting Scoring Across the Lines
Duchene is correct that Alexander Kerfoot has had a great start to his career with the Colorado Avalanche — and it’s good to see that Duchene has been a part of it. And Kerfoot is learning early that even the ugly goals, that rebound off you “leg” count the same as the pretty ones.