Avalanche forward Martin Kaut crouched on one knee, sent a flurry of right-handed fist pumps into the air, and received a water-bottle bath from captain Gabe Landeskog at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night.
It was an emphatic celebration worthy of Kaut’s first NHL goal.
And, wait, it gets even better.
“My mom was here,” Kaut told reporters in the Avs postgame locker room after a 3-2 win against Buffalo. “That goal was for my mom.”
Kaut’s journey from the Czech Republic to this milestone proved arduous. The former 2018 first-round draft choice mostly failed to meet expectations over 94 AHL Colorado Eagles games with 42 points (17 goals).