Aleksi Heponiemi deflected a goalmouth pass from Anthony Duclair by Thomas Greiss 2:45 into overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
First NHL game, first NHL goal.
What a stage in OT to get it — congrats to Aleksi Heponiemi! pic.twitter.com/UKENEuilez— NHL (@NHL) January 31, 2021The 22-year-old Heponiemi became the fourth player in league history to score an overtime game-winning goal in his NHL debut, joining Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (January 14, 2021), Calgary’s Tim Sweeney (October 4, 1990) and Nick Knott (November 2, 1941) of the long defunct Brooklyn Americans.