Lasting impressions

Nelson Emerson, an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings, holds legendary status within our household. It’s not that he scored 510 points in 811 NHL (regular season and playoffs) games. It’s because he scored the first goal during the first NHL game attended by my wife.

It came during the Hurricanes’ 1997-98 home-opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum. Yes, the team’s first two seasons were played in Greensboro, not Raleigh.

What endeared Emerson to my wife, who also has an autographed Hurricanes No. 19 jersey, was he got into a fight immediately after he scored the goal. Let’s just say, as I have since that night, that Emerson is a better scorer.

"I still have a scar from that fight, right here" Emerson recalled yesterday, pointing to a mark between his eyebrows.