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Until Monday night, Dylan Ferguson had played nine career minutes of NHL hockey, which came in a relief appearance for the Vegas Golden Knights in November 2017.
At the time, he was only 19 and still playing for the Kamloops Blazers, but was called up to the Knights on an emergency basis and was thrust into action.
He faced just two shots and one of them beat him for a goal.
Fast forward more than five years and Ferguson was a little more prepared, and a whole lot more mature, as he took the crease for his first career NHL start.
It showed. The former Blazers backstop made 48 saves on 49 shots to lead the Ottawa Senators to a much-needed 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Feeling Fergalicious. 🤩
— NHL (@NHL) March 21, 2023
ICYMI, Dylan Ferguson (@dferg_98) has his first NHL win, and has now been credited with making 48 saves on 49 shots! pic.twitter.com/NG4iS9x4eJ
The victory snapped the Sens five-game losing skid and kept the team’s playoff hopes alive, and the relief showed after the final horn sounded as Ferguson’s teammates mobbed him in celebration.
"I wanted to stay in the moment," Ferguson told Sportnset's Kyle Bukauskas after the game. "I knew the guys were going to go to war for me tonight, and I planned to do the same."
It’s been quite the year for Ferguson, who played most of the season on a professional tryout and only signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies four weeks ago.
Since then, he was loaned to the ECHL, traded to the AHL’s Belleville Senators and recalled to the big leagues to make the start for Ottawa on Monday.
After that performance, and with goalies Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg still on the shelf with injuries, Ferguson may get a few more shots to man the crease as the Sens push for a playoff spot down the stretch.