Statistics, Facts and Figures on Arena Debuts
With the opening of the Devils' Prudential Center come new dreams, limitless expectations, fond memories of past eras, and statistics. Heaps of statistics, and not statistics, but facts and figures as well. Ah, statistics, facts and figures, you gotta love the joy they accomplish in their simplicity. The answer to the question yet to be asked, just waiting for something to happen so they can be relevant and important. The magical unsung hero of so many sports, which appeal to the repressed mathematician or burgeoning historian in us all.
Who scored the last goal at Continental Airlines arena? Who scored the first goal there? Who scored the first goal at the new Prudential Center? Who scored the first goal in the McNichols Sports Arena? Who cares?
The answers are irrelevant. But in case you're just that curious they are as follows: Scott Gomez, Don Lever, Andrej Meszaros, Larry Skinner and possibly you. The point remains that they are out there just waiting to be uncovered like an ancient artifact. Maybe you don't care, but I find it extremely interesting that in 1974 Yvon Labre scored the first goal at what was then called the Capital Centre (as eulogized by Tony Kornheiser). I spent many games throughout my younger years sitting in that arena wondering why his number hung above me. Apparently it was because he scored their first goal at home. Maybe there are a few more reasons, but I have yet to look that thoroughly through the yearbook.
Scoring the first goal in a new arena instantly places a player into the record books, regardless of what else he accomplishes in his career. Andrej Meszaros solidified his spot last Thursday night even if he never makes it back to the Stanley Cup Finals to get his name engraved on the Cup. That first goal in an arena can be as traumatic as Jari Kurri scoring the first at The Saddledome in Calgary. It can be as undeniably perfect as Milan Hejduk scoring the first goal at the Pepsi Arena in Denver less that two years before he would celebrate a Stanley Cup Championship with Ray Bourque and those same fans.
Going down the list of first goal scorers there are plently of other recognizable names: Al MacInnis at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Anson Carter at the Staples Center in LA, Vincent Damphousse at Bell Centre in Montreal, and Steve Yzerman at GM Place in Vancouver. But there is an equally unimpressive list of guys who where at the right place at the right time, like Steve Washburn at the Verizon Center in DC, Krzysztof Oliwa at the Philips Arena in Atlanta or even the forgettable Bruce Gardiner who scored the first goal in Columbus Blue Jackets franchise history at Nationwide Arena.
There is something special about the first goal in an arena. It creates an instant bond between player and rink, between record and book. Maybe that last one is a stretch, but whatever bond it does create became official between Andrej Meszaros and the Prudential Center last Thursday night. All that remains to be determined now is whether or not his name will be be in the "recognizable" column in another two decades. I'm guessing it will be.
Labels: arenas, Capital Centre, facts, figures, Prudential Center, rinkrat, stats, the rink rat
posted by therinkrat @ 7:22 PM
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