There were plenty of elite goal scorers on the ice Wednesday night. But none of them held a candle to Alex Killorn.
Less than five minutes into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning forward scored one of the most impressive goals in recent memory to give his team an early lead over the Chicago Blackhawks.
OK, that deserves another look. Not only was Killorn facing away from the goal, he also was several feet to the right of the crease when he somehow directed the puck just inside the right post for the score.
Killorn’s goal ultimately was moot, as Teuvo Teravainen and Antoine Vermette scored two late tallies to lift Chicago to a huge 2-1 win. But was it the best we’ve seen in the Stanley Cup playoffs?
Patrick Kane and his no-look backhand snipe against the Anaheim Ducks might disagree, as might Killorn’s own teammate, Steven Stamkos, who scored a filthy breakaway goal against the Montreal Canadiens.
Yet given the degree of difficulty on Killorn’s tip-in — and the stakes at hand — it’s hard to argue against the Harvard product’s absurd goal.
Thumbnail photo via Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports Images
