Ron Hainsey, the 13th overall draft pick from 2000, has experienced a bunch of playoff firsts this spring.
It took this long for the 36-year-old veteran to reach the playoffs at all after spending his career with Montreal, Columbus, Atlanta, Winnipeg and Carolina. Hainsey was acquired by the Penguins at this year’s trade deadline, which provided him his first crack at the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Last week, Hainsey got into his first post-season game, he recorded his first playoff point with a Game 3 assist, and Tuesday night he experienced his first post-season loss as the Penguins fell 5-4 to Columbus in Game 4 of their first round series.
But it wasn’t all sour in Game 4. Hainsey, a stay-at-home defenceman with just 49 goals in his entire career, scored his first playoff goal from below the hash marks, on a pass from Phil Kessel.
Hainsey’s run without scoring a post-season goal ends at 14 seasons. He had played 907 career regular season games before registering his first goal, point and game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which may seem like a long time (and it is), but it’s still far from the all-time record.
That would belong to defenceman Luke Richardson, who played 1,417 career regular season games, and even 69 Stanley Cup Playoffs games, but never scored a post-season goal. He went on a couple long post-season runs with Edmonton and Toronto, but never won the Stanley Cup.
Hal Gill, who did win a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, comes in at No. 2 on this list. Gill played 1,108 career regular season games and even 111 playoff games, but he never scored a post-season goal (he did register six assists).
Here’s a look at the top five players who have played the most regular season games, without scoring a playoff goal. (Numbers via Sportsnet Stats)
| PLAYER | REGULAR SEASON GAMES |
|---|---|
| Luke Richardson | 1417 |
| Hal Gill | 1108 |
| Jay Bouwmeester | 1071 |
| Nick Schultz | 1069 |
| Don Awrey | 979 |
Bouwmeester and Schultz are the only active players on this list. Schultz, a member of the Flyers, is already out, and if Bouwmeester doesn’t score in the Blues’ run this season (they’re up 3-0 on Minnesota in Round 1), they could both surpass Gill for No. 2 next season.
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