2013: Chris Kelly scores first goal of season on penalty shot
How often does a player score a penalty shot goal? Not often. What about a penalty shot goal for the first goal of the season? Never.
Nonetheless, this is exactly what happened in the 2013-2014 home opener. Bruins forward Chris Kelly earned a penalty shot in the first period against the Lightning.
Kelly did score 20 goals in a season, but nobody ever confused him for a sniper. So, most fans probably didn’t expect to see something special.
Kelly, however, surprised everybody with a fantastic move. He undressed Anders Lindback and slid the puck into an open net. This was definitely one of the prettiest goals of Kelly’s career.
Kelly went on to have an up-and-down season for a Bruins team that finished at the top of the Eastern Conference. That doesn’t change the fact that his opening goal was an impressive feat.