Jaromir Jagr has scored big goals throughout his career, but Wednesday night his second-period goal for the Devils turned out to be a record-breaker. It was his 122nd game-winning goal, passing Gordie Howe for the most all time, as the Devils beat the Senators 5-2 at Prudential Center.
“It’s a big honor for me break Howe’s record. It’s the only one Wayne Gretzky doesn’t have,” Jagr said after the game. “It’s a long streak for me without a goal.”
It was his first goal in eight games, but more importantly, the 693rd of his future Hall of Fame career, moving him into eighth place all time. He trails Mark Messier by one goal for seventh place.
“It’s an unbelievable feat especially with the names on the list he is around and passed. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer said.
Trailing Jagr by a mere 692 goals is rookie Reid Boucher, who notched his first NHL goal off an Eric Gelinas rebound in the first period, which gave the Devils a 2-0 lead.
Boucher, 20, a highly touted prospect the Devils drafted in 2011, broke an OHL record with 62 goals for the Sarnia Sting last season but hadn’t scored in his first seven NHL games until Wednesday night.
“It’s something I’ll always remember for the rest of my life. It’s very special,” Boucher said. “I felt like I was close. I felt like I was getting chances and I was fortunate enough to get that one.”
Had the Senators not scored in the third period, it would have been a game-winning goal for Boucher. Instead, Jagr added another one to his list.
“He’s an unbelievable player,” Boucher said. “It doesn’t surprise me that he is breaking records. He’s been one of the best guys in the league for so long.”
It was Jagr’s fourth game-winner of the season. The first of his career came during the 1990-91 season when he was a rookie.
Gelinas had a third period goal and an assist and was a plus-3. The 22-year old defenseman has 15 points in 26 games.
The Devils got on the board early just 2:02 into the game while shorthanded. With Marek Zidlicky in the box for hooking, a Senators turnover created a two-on-one for the Devils. Adam Henrique neatly slid the puck across the ice to Stephen Gionta who beat Lehner for his first of the season. Gionta returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with an ankle injury.
“He keeps plugging along. He’s been our best player so far this year and he keeps leading by example out there,” Gionta said.
Martin Brodeur had 23 saves. Damien Brunner also scored for the Devils and Colin Greening and Milan Michalek had power play goals for the Senators.