Zdeno Chara is the oldest active player in the NHL at the tender age of 43. He spent 15 of his 23 NHL seasons with the Bruins before shocking the ice hockey world and signing a one-year deal with the Capitals on December 30th.
Over the course of 1,560 games in the regular season (between the Islanders, Senators, Bruins and Caps) and 195 other games in the playoffs, “Big Z” scored a total of 223 goals. But maybe none was bigger – or had the best reaction – than the one he scored on Thursday night.
In the second stage, the senior statesman got the puck at the left point and shot a shot that passed some traffic before hitting the islanders goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov. Quick note: Chara won the NHL’s toughest shooting competition for five consecutive years (2007-12) and holds the record at 108.8 mph.
Sure, it was a special goal as it was his first with the Capitals in his eighth game (he already had an assist Thursday). But what happened next will surely give you all the feelings.
After Chara met, he was attacked by the camera on the bank of the capitals. Craig Laughlin of NBC Sports Washington exclaimed, “Big Z with all of his kids around him, I love it!”
It was quite a scene on the bench and the old man had the biggest smile when the “kids” raved about him and patted him on the head. It’s not an easy task, by the way, because Chara certainly lives up to his nickname with an NHL high of 6-9.
The gate also completed a series of markers for the capitals entering the middle frame in a 3-0 hole. Connor Sheary started the comeback with two tallies before Garnet Hathaway, John Carlson and Chara built the stack. All five goals came in a decent nine minutes and 23 seconds.
