Jiricek scored his first NHL goal! My mom even cried, says the Czech talent. What will he do with the puck?

The Canadian-American NHL offered twelve games from Saturday to Sunday night, and Czech hockey players were involved in several of them. Perhaps the most noteworthy, along with David Pastrňák, is David Jiříček, who scored his first NHL goal against the Rangers. But in his post-game interview, he talked about more than that.

David Jiricek had a very wild weekend. First, Zach Werenski got injured and the Blue Jackets had to call up a substitute from their farm. And they decided to go with the young Czech defenseman.

Jiricek was called up on Friday, and on Saturday night he played his first game of the current NHL season.

“It was my first game of the season, so I was a little nervous. It wasn’t easy to arrive quickly, get through practice and go right into the game. But I think I did well and I want to build on that and keep playing, ” Jiricek said after the game.

Yes, Jiricek played the game against the Rangers with bravado. Columbus was up 2:1 after the first period, even though they were down 0:1 after 50 seconds of the first period. However, Boone Jenner then tied the game and the fans at Nationwide Arena saw three unanswered goals after coach’s challenges.

The referee disallowed Filip Chytil’s goal when the Rangers could have been up 2:0 in the sixth minute, but after the equalizer, Swede Zibanejad’s goal was disallowed. On the other side, Patrik Laine scored at 12:36, but the referee did not rule it as a regulation goal either.

Columbus turned the score to 2:1 with two minutes and fifteen seconds left on the clock when Jenner was on the end of a power play. He completed his hat trick in the second half of the middle period, one minute after which Jiricek increased the score to 4:1.

We appreciate the win, I gave the puck to my mom

The 19-year-old big Czech hockey talent scored his first NHL goal and helped the Blue Jackets to victory. The final score was 5:3 after goals by Cuylle, Danforth and Kreider.

“Of course we appreciate the win and we will try to build on it in the next game on Monday. For me it’s great to have scored the first goal already. I was able to take advantage of a scramble in front of the goalie, who probably didn’t see much,” explains the author of the fourth Blue Jackets goal.

“It’s my second season with the Blue Jackets, I feel more comfortable and I’m more comfortable with the pace of the NHL. I’m going to give the puck I scored my first NHL goal with to my mom. It was an amazing moment for her, she even cried,” Jiricek added about the emotional first goal.

Source: NHL