New York. Adam Larson has scored a total of 39 goals in twelve NHL seasons, but none could have been more beautiful or more important than last night.
In overtime, he pulled off a rare free position, outwitted star goaltender Jake Oettinger’s cleats and sealed a 5-4 victory for Seattle over Dallas.
– I heard the whole bench screaming that I was alone, so I hung on and it was fine, says the unlikely hero.
It’s not primarily because of his offensive skills that Adam Larsson has been in the best league in the world for over a decade. On the contrary, the 30-year-old defender from Skellefteå has made a name for himself as a reliable ‘stay at home’ defender.
But when the nighttime drama at the American Airlines Center reached its climax, he looked like pure Eric Carlson
1.52 had gone into overtime when Adam suddenly found himself on the run in the midfield and, receiving a perfect pass from Jared McCann, stormed into the open area, held off poor Jake Oettinger and put up the decisive 5-4.
– He’s “sneaky”, that big cat. Guard Joey Dacor says with a wide smile that he has it and it was great to see him exploit it in this condition.
For his part, Larson, the very picture of the calm associated with the end of the country from which he came, takes the clamor in stride.
– I heard the whole bench screaming that I was alone, so I hung on and it was fine, he said in a TV interview right after the decision.
A little earlier, the crows felt less good. They had a 4-2 lead with three and a half minutes left in regulation time. But then Joe Pavelski squeezed – and at the last second Jimmy Bean managed to equalize too.
– It was, of course, difficult, but we continued to believe in ourselves and in the end we brought a big, big victory for the team, says the overtime champion Larsson.
He also provided an assist – just like Alex Weinberg in the final goal.