A Night He'll Never Forget: Blake's First Goal

RALEIGH, N.C. - For years, Canes Associate General Manager Darren Yorke has been preaching that Jackson Blake has a knack for the highlight reel.

The goal that the 2021 fourth-round pick scored on Tuesday night may not be on his "best of" compilation down the road, but it will be a moment that he won't soon forget.

As Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom rimmed the puck around the boards during last night's third period, Dmitry Orlov was there along the wall waiting for it, quickly throwing it back toward the net.

Finding a soft spot between New Jersey's defenders, Blake positioned himself between the top of the crease and the middle of the faceoff circles, getting the slightest deflection on the initial shot and altering its path into the net.

From there, a joyous eruption of emotion in front of 18,700 at the Lenovo Center.

"I didn't even know what I was doing. I just saw Orly and I went to him," Blake said with a laugh post-game, describing what was running through his mind at the time.

It was the 300th point of Orlov's NHL career, making him the only active Russian-born defenseman to reach 300, but all attention was on the 21-year-old. Just one week after he was officially recalled to be a part of the team's opening night roster, the goal was the perfect example of Blake's undeniable skill and consistent work ethic.

If there were any doubts that he could stick on the roster, last night washed away at least some of them.

"Every day I think I just get more comfortable," Blake continued during his scrum. "I'm realizing that I think I belong here in this league and I've got to show it every night. I think every day is a tryout. I felt comfortable tonight and I think I'm just going to continue to feel that."

Admitting that his own confidence is a work in progress, he knows that in order to remain in Raleigh, he's got to be present here as well.

"I think you've got to have belief in yourself. Obviously, it's a little hard sometimes when you see guys like Jack Hughes on the other side, but you've just got to remember that they're human too, and you can be just as good as those guys too," the University of North Dakota of product furthered.

A special night for Blake was aided by sentimental comments from around the locker room, who appeared equally as joyous for him.

You could see the elation from Blake's teammates in the moments following the strike, and post-game everyone continued with the recognition.

"It's awesome. Everyone's going to remember your first goal. Like Roddy just said, we might not remember this game, but Blaker will for the rest of his life," Shayne Gostisbehere said. "For him and his family, it's all of the hard work that everyone put in to help get him to that point. Getting the game-winning goal is pretty cool too."

As Gostisbehere alluded to, Rod Brind'Amour's post-game speech was another heartfelt one as well, touching on all the right points.

"You love to see that. You kind of forget sometimes how emotional the game can be, and how much it means to (him)," the Canes' head coach said to the media afterward. "Like I said (in the locker room), no one's going to remember this game, but he will."