The Montreal Canadiens are playing the last game of their 2021-22 season but it wasn’t too late for a first.
Defenceman Jordan Harris scored the first goal of his NHL career tonight early in the first period against the Florida Panthers.
The 21 year old left shot defenceman stepped into the offensive zone and one-timed a quick snap shot that eluded Panthers goaltender Jonas Johansson on the short side.
Harris is playing in his 10th game of the season. He turned pro after his senior season with the Northeastern Huskies ended early in the NCAA Championship tournament. He has looked comfortable defensively at the NHL level and is showing he has all the tools to develop into a reliable two-way blue liner for the Habs in the near future.
He likely won’t be a big goal scorer at the NHL level, but he did get his first tonight.
First NHL goal for Jordan Harris (@jharris004)! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/uXLt4rfm3c
— NHL (@NHL) April 29, 2022
The Canadiens season will end tonight and the Habs will sit at the bottom of the NHL standings when the dust settles on the season. There are not a lot of positives to come from a 55 point team in the standings, but Harris is part of a young core of defenceman that is coming along and could transform the blue line of this team in the near future.
Harris, Alexander Romanov, Kaiden Guhle, Logan Mailloux, Justin Barron, Mattias Norlinder, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble will all be playing pro by the end of next season. The Canadiens should be able to build a skilled, two-way group of defenceman out of that group in short order.
Harris goal was the first of an outburst of offence for the Canadiens as the Panthers iced a minor league-ish lineup in the final game of their terrific season. Getting his first NHL goal in his last game of the season is a great way for Harris to go into the offseason on a high as he prepares for his first full NHL season.
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