LAS VEGAS — The journey to an NHL goal isn't always a straight line, and Jeff Malott '20's path proves it was worth the wait.
The former Cornell men's hockey forward scored his first NHL goal Wednesday night in the Los Angeles Kings' 6-5 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, becoming the 22nd former Big Red player to score in an NHL game. The milestone came at age 29 after nearly five full seasons playing in the AHL.
Malott's goal came with 6:19 remaining in the second period, giving the Kings a 3-1 lead. After Shea Theodore's shot was blocked by his own teammate, Malott sparked the breakout from the defensive zone and carried the puck into the offensive zone. He fed Alex Turcotte at the half-wall before deflecting Joel Armia's one-timer past Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill.
His celebration, however, was measured.
"I had a feeling," Malott said when asked if he knew the goal was his. "It was so hard to tell, a bit of a traffic jam in front, but I felt something. I needed to wait for some confirmation because of last time, I think I celebrated a little bit too early. I didn't get (a goal) last year, so it's a pretty awesome feeling with all the guys."
Kings coach Jim Hiller captured the significance of the moment for a player who has defied the odds.
"We talked about it in the room, 29 years old, just keeps going," Hiller said. "It doesn't always turn out, most often times it doesn't turn out. When it does, that's the great part of sports, when somebody just sticks with it. All kinds of movies that have been shown about that type of story and when you have one of those guys that's on your team and such a good guy, the guys were pretty excited."
The goal marked Malott's second career NHL point. He recorded his first with an assist on an Alex Laferriere goal against Seattle on April 15.
Through two games this season, Malott has converted his only shot on goal and added seven penalty minutes after fighting Josh Manson in the Kings' season opener versus Colorado — a 4-1 loss that featured former Big Red defenseman Sam Malinski '23 scoring the game-winning goal in his 100th career NHL game for the Avalanche.
Malott will face another Cornell connection Saturday when the Kings visit Winnipeg to take on his former teammate Morgan Barron and the Jets at 1:30 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
