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NY Islanders rookie Isaiah George nets first NHL goal in familiar and special setting

20-year-old defenseman's first goal of his career propels Isles to 6-3 win over Toronto Maple Leafs

Dec 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Islanders defenseman Isaiah George (36) gets congratulated at the bench after scoring his first goal of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Islanders defenseman Isaiah George (36) gets congratulated at the bench after scoring his first goal of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Every first NHL goal is memorable, but some are more memorable than others because of where, when, and how they happen. That was the case for New York Islanders 20-year-old defenseman Isaiah George, who scored his first of his career at a crucial point of the third period in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the home rink where dreams like that were made.

The Islanders had played one of their best first periods of the season, scoring three times against Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll and leading 3-1 after the first intermission. William Nylander's second goal of the game made it 3-2 heading into the third, the period where one lead after another has evaporated for the Islanders this season.

The goal happened at the 5:23 as Anthony Duclair, playing for the first time in 28 games won a puck battle behind the net, turned up the boards and fed a cross-ice pass to George who beat Woll with a wirst shot that was deflected in from the left circle.

“It was fun that I got to do it in Toronto where I grew up watching Leafs games and coming to this rink, so it was really special,” George said after the game. “I have family, friends and a lot of people that helped me get to this point so it was great.”

The first NHL goal for the 20-year-old came in his 20th NHL game and his first since being a healthy scratch for the first time in his career the prior two games after Adam Pelech returned from injury. Head coach Patrick Roy has said that George and Dennis Cholowski would likely rotate games as the sixth defenseman moving forward.

“Since he’s been here, he’s been outstanding,” Roy said. “It was good for him to miss a couple games, back tonight, he was really good. It was a reset. Don’t forget last year he was in junior. I’m very happy for him and very proud of him.”

Before the NHL roster freeze, the team placed defenseman Grant Hutton on waivers, signaling that they believe George is best served playing minutes at the NHL level than Bridgeport right now for his development. With there being no timetable for Mike Reilly's return from his heart procedure, George could make the case for being the sixth defenseman more often than not.

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