Gaborik gets NHL's first 5-goal game in 11 years
"One time I got five goals when I was playing back home for a pro club back there, but this is just totally different," said Gaborik, who took 10 of his team's 22 shots.
"You score five goals in the NHL it's just a totally different experience. To reach it here with these guys in front of our fans is just unbelievable."
His was the first five-goal outing since Sergei Federov did it for Detroit on Dec. 26, 1996, in an overtime game against Washington. Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux was the last to net five in regulation, on March 26, 1996, versus St. Louis.
As Nikki and I drove home from the game, we acknowledged how rare of an occurrence this was and that we'll probably never get to see anything like it again. It was pretty special to be there and watch.
One of the best parts of the game was late in the 3rd period... whenever Gaborik stepped on the ice the crowd gave him a rousing ovation. The rest of his team kept feeding him the puck to try and help him get his 6th goal of the game, but he wasn't able to score after the 5th one.
Here's footage of the five goals: