Alex Radulov's last regular-season goal in the NHL was 4 years and 2 days ago: Against the Detroit Red Wings on March 20, 2008. (He did score twice in an eventual playoff series against the Wings.)
Playing his first game for the Nashville Predators since returning from the KHL this month, Radulov scored their only goal in a 5-1 loss at the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night:
Hal Gill and Patric Hornqvist had the assists on the goal, scored at 12:01 of the second period.
For the game, Radulov … had a bit of a struggle. He was a minus-3 with no shots before the goal; he ended the night at a minus-2 in 15:54, with two shots on goal and two hits. His average shift time of 50 seconds per twirl ranked fourth among Predators forwards. But in fairness: It's been a long week ... and a long time away from the League.