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Oilers History: Gretzky scores his first NHL goal on Oct. 14, 1979
Photo credit: NHL.com
By baggedmilk
Oct 14, 2017, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 14, 2017, 18:13 EDT
It was on this day, October 14th, 1979, that Wayne Gretzky scored his first-ever NHL goal.
It took the Great One until his third NHL contest to get that first one (remind you of anyone else? *taps nose*) and you can tell by the look on his face that he was fired up to get it out of the way. Gretzky was able to put up a couple of assists in his first two games but it wasn’t until late in the third period of his third that he was able to get himself on the board.
“I just came out and I kinda got it through his legs. (The goalie) made a move early and I got it through his legs, and it went in. I remember thinking, ‘oh my goodness I finally scored’ and take some pressure off myself.”
It’s funny to think that even the greatest player to ever lace em up felt the pressure to perform even in his first NHL games, but I guess that’s what it takes to be the best. Gretzky would go on to score 893 more goals in his NHL career, an NHL record that has yet to be touched with only Jaromir Jagr as the only active player “within reach” of the mark with 765 goals to his credit.
Check out the goal here:
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