Canes’ Brock McGinn makes (very) quick impact

Rod Brind’Amour couldn’t help teasing Brock McGinn, at least a little.

“I told him, ‘Man, it’s tough when you come out like that. You can only go one way, but hopefully you can keep it up,’” Brind’Amour said Monday.

McGinn, a rookie forward for the Carolina Hurricanes, scored his first NHL goal on his first NHL shift Friday as the Canes topped the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 for their first victory of the season. It came 55 seconds into the game at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, making McGinn the fastest to score in an NHL debut since Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres in October 1989.

Brind’Amour, a former Hurricanes captain and now a Carolina assistant coach, was waiting at the bench. So were McGinn’s teammates, ready to both congratulate and razz him.

McGinn’s parents, Bob and Cori, were in the stands celebrating. The Twitter-sphere was ablaze.

Things were different when Brind’Amour scored his first NHL goal. His first NHL game, with the St. Louis Blues, was a Stanley Cup playoff game against the Minnesota North Stars in 1989.

“Scored on my first shot, in the second period,” Brind’Amour said. “I didn’t get another shot that game, which was the last game of the series. In the first game of the next series I scored nine seconds into the game. So my first two shots, I scored, which was pretty huge for me.”

Brind’Amour’s parents weren’t at his NHL debut. Nor, he said, did they see it on television. He had to find a pay phone after the game to call and give them the news.

“They didn’t even know we had won, said like, ‘Oh, great,’” Brind’Amour said, smiling. “It’s so much better now. The parents are often there at the game and so happy for their kids.”

McGinn, 21, has two older brothers who have played in the NHL. Jamie McGinn, now with the Buffalo Sabres, scored in his second NHL game with the San Jose Sharks. Tye McGinn, who is in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, scored his first NHL goal in his third game for the Philadelphia Flyers.

“So I’ve got the bragging rights,” Brock McGinn said.

Because of an injury to forward Joakim Nordstrom, McGinn was recalled Wednesday from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. He was put on a line with Eric Staal and winger Kris Versteeg, and promptly scored on an early two-on-one rush, taking a pass from Versteeg.

Wings goalie Jimmy Howard stopped McGinn’s first shot from the left wing, but McGinn quickly followed up the rebound.

“It was kind of surreal,” McGinn said Monday. “You don’t expect to do that in your first game. It was definitely a good moment and a good moment for the guys. To see the smiles on their faces was pretty awesome for me.”

Said center Jordan Staal: “We told him he should have scored on the first shot.”

The Canes collected the puck for safekeeping, to become a McGinn memento. And, like Brind’Amour, it had other Canes recalling their first goals.

Jordan Staal’s first came shorthanded, as a penalty killer for the Pittsburgh Penguins in October 2008. Playing against the New York Rangers, he picked off a Jaromir Jagr pass from to Brendan Shanahan and scored against goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

“Beginner’s luck,” he joked. “That was pretty special, although obviously not the first shift of an NHL game.”

Forward Jeff Skinner scored his first goal Oct. 20, 2010, in his sixth NHL game. It came against the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center, where he had been drafted four months before by the Canes.

“Whacked at it on a rebound and it went through the goalie’s legs,” Skinner said. “You don’t forget your first.”

For Versteeg, the first came in his fourth game with the Chicago Blackhawks in October 2007. He said his shot was “well wide” of the net but the puck glanced off the posterior of Coyotes defenseman Keith Ballard and into the net.

Now, Versteeg had assisted on McGinn’s first. Mogilny scored in 20 seconds in ’89, but McGinn’s goal was impressive, as well.

“It was a special moment for him and obviously he’s a part of NHL history, too,” Versteeg said.

There also was another game to play on the road trip. The Canes (1-4-0) were beaten 4-1 Saturday by the Washington Capitals, who scored on a first-period power play after a tripping penalty against McGinn. Caps defenseman John Carlson appeared to catch a rut in the ice and fall, but it was McGinn’s first NHL penalty and the Caps took a 1-0 lead.

“You’re going to get some calls against you but I don’t want that to affect my game or my game to change,” McGinn said. “I’ll keep going out and keep playing the same way.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Canes’ Brock McGinn makes (very) quick impact."