Today is big day for football fans, as Super Bowl XLVI kicks off at 6:29 P.M. ET. But February 5, 2012 is arguably almost as big a day for puckheads: one year ago today, Montreal Canadiens' centre Scott Gomez scored his last NHL goal.
According to DidGomezScore.com, at the time of this writing, it's been 365 days, 00 hours, 26 minutes, and 45 seconds since Gomez's last score, a game-winner versus the New York Rangers.
The online timer was especially valuable as we neared the official one-year anniversary, and not just because it provided entertainment and suspense as I waited for some sort of Y2K-esque meltdown the moment it reached the one-year mark. It was a very useful reference because, with eight minutes to go, the clock very nearly had to start over.
Midway through the second period versus the Winnipeg Jets, Gomez acted as the net presence on a Canadiens' powerplay, and when the puck got past Ondrej Pavelec, there was some debate over whether it had touched Gomez on the way through:
If it had, Gomez would have edged out the official one-year anniversary of his last goal by just under eight minutes.
Unfortunately, after an unnaturally long review -- clearly, the officials wanted to make especially sure they got this one right -- the goal was awarded to Tomas Plekanec. The Bell Centre booed the announcement.
But today is not a day for boos -- today is a day for kudos at this momentous and rare feat. Never in the history of the NHL has a $7.5 million forward gone a full calendar year without scoring a goal. Puck Daddy would like to officially congratulate Scott Gomez on his year of living goallessly.
In closing, join me, won't you, in a rousing rendition of 'Scott Gomez can't put anything in.'
Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney.