If Ryan Nugent-Hopkins only has nine games to make an impression on Edmonton Oilers' management, then consider his first game a success.
Nugent-Hopkins got the Oilers' only regulation time goal late in the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins to tie the score at one before the Oilers won in a shootout.
The Burnaby Winter Club product went strong to the net and took a between-the-legs pass from Ales Hemsky and shovelled it past Brent Johnson at 15: 05 of the third period.
Nugent-Hopkins certainty didn't play like a rookie, centring a line with Taylor Hall and Hemsky and playing 19 shifts for 17: 04 of playing time. Nugent-Hopkins finished +1 for the night but must improve on his faceoff skills, as he won only two of 15 draws for a .133 winning percentage.
Edmonton is idle until this Friday, when it goes on the road in Minnesota.
"The last couple of years have been building up to this day," Nugent-Hopkins told the Edmonton Journal. "Going into the game I was really nervous, but I tried to use that to my advantage. It felt pretty good. . It was really exciting. But I'm more excited about the win."
The Oilers can assess Nugent-Hopkins' progress for the first nine games before deciding if they want to keep him in Edmonton and start the clock on his entry-level contract.
