SAN JOSE – It wasn’t how he drew it up in his dreams, but Sharks rookie Joonas Donskoi didn’t seem to care that his first NHL goal was a Joe Pavelski shot that hit the crossbar and deflected in off of his hip in the third period of a blowout win.
“Yeah, I’ll take it,” Donskoi said on Thursday, the day after making his NHL debut against the Kings.
The 23-year-old Finland native played just 9:46 in the game, but was on the ice for three Sharks goals and none against. He had two shots on goal and one hit, spending nearly all of his time on the left wing of Pavelski and Joe Thornton.