Former Capital and Stanley Cup Champion Alex Chiasson set a new career high in goals Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
With a quick flick of his wrists in front of the net, Chiasson scored his 14th goal of the season.
Chiasson’s previous career high was 13 set in the 2013-14 season with the Dallas Stars.
It only took Chaser 27 games to reach the new mark.
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12:37 into the first period, Connor McDavid forced a turnover behind the net, reversing the puck to Leon Draisaitl standing along the boards. Draisaitl then fired a pass to Chiasson parked in front of the net for the goal.
The 28-year-old Chiasson trails only his linemates Connor McDavid (19) and Leon Draisaitl (16) in goals for the Oilers.
“I couldn’t be happier for him,” McDavid said of Chiasson’s new career-high. “He’s a fun guy to play with.”
"I couldn't be happier for him & he's a fun guy to play with." Captain Connor on his current #Oilers linemate Alex Chiasson & his new career high in goals pic.twitter.com/giqsYMKtUy
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 15, 2018
Chiasson’s thirteenth goal came just the day before in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Connor McDavid’s assist on the goal was his 300th point in the NHL.
Pass provided by McDavid, tip delivered by Chiasson.@cmcdavid97 has career points #300 and 301 this evening. pic.twitter.com/2UdmaCAiyS
— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2018
“If you look at the goals he’s scored, he’s not panicking when most people do panic,” new Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “But he’s also on a line that can control the puck. He’s a perfect example of goals coming from possession time. We’ve been in the zone a long time, space becomes available, he ends up open at the net because people are tired defending.”
Also a factor: Chiasson’s ridiculous shooting percentage. H’s shooting a league-high 30.2 percent.
With his 4-3 goal, #Oilers Alex Chiasson leads the NHL with a shooting percentage of 30.2%
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 14, 2018
Chiasson scored nine goals and nine assists in 61 regular season games with the Capitals in 2017-18, and added a goal and an assist during the Caps’ Stanley Cup run. Chaser became close friends with Alex Ovechkin during his time with the team.
Chiasson made the Edmonton Oilers out of training camp after receiving a professional tryout in the fall. He was scratched five games to start the season before catching on fire.
Update 12/17: Chiasson scored again. He now has 15 goals in 28 games. He’s on pace to score 41 goals this season according to ESPN.com.
Alex Chiasson is up to 1️⃣5️⃣ goals this season. 🤯 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/7GDSaDjOPj
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 17, 2018
Headline photo: Andy Devlin
