ST.PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild (26-11-9) hosted the New York Islanders (25-15-5) on Saturday after a long road trip.
Minnesota lost that game in overtime 4-3 on a Simon Holmstrom overtime-winner.
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The Wild got the first goal of the game though and it came off the stick of Ben Jones. It was his first NHL goal and his first NHL point in his 49th career NHL game.
Jones, 26, had played in 48 NHL games in three seasons in the league. He had no points. He played in 26 games last year for the Wild and had zero points and 51 hits. This season he now has one goal and 51 hits in 21 games this season.
In fact, Jones had the second-longest streak to open a career with out a point (408:11 time on ice), behind only Adam Durish of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2006-07 (463:17).
“Yeah, it wore on me a little bit,” Jones said after the game. “You try not to focus on it. Obviously, that’s not what I do to help the team, but it’s great to contribute. It seemed like people were thinking I was going for some record that I kept getting tagged in, of not getting a point in however many games. But no, it was nice to get the first one, and yeah, a big sigh of relief for sure.”
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Jones’ goal was a tip-in off a Brock Faber point shot. Quinn Hughes passed it to Faber before he shot it. Jones and Hughes grew up playing hockey together and are the same age. They were good friends then and are still friends now.
A full circle moment for sure.
“He [Hughes] kept saying that he felt like he was going to be a part of the first one, and he made it happen,” Jones said. “So, I was happy to see that.”
Hughes added: “Life works like that. It was a weird one. I had a feeling that would happen.”
Jones had three points waived off earlier in his career with the Wild due to goalie interference calls that actually happened because Jones clipped the goaltender. There is no doubt this one felt good for Jones to finally get on the scoresheet and not see zeros anymore.
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“Really happy for Jonesy,” Wild head coach John Hynes said. “He plays so hard for a team. He fits a lot of different roles, and it was a long time coming for him.
“Coming into the game, one of our game plans was, we had to get to the net front, into that area. That was something that we targeted. And he scored the goal, driving right into the high slot for that tip area. So, good for him and happy for him.”
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Immediate Impact: Quinn Hughes’ Start With The Wild Has Been Historically Fast
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