After three seasons in the minors and the last five games in the press box, Chris Wideman finally played his first NHL game Saturday night.
The 25-year-old winner of the 2014-15 Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's most outstanding player was tapped when Marc Methot fell ill in the afternoon. He wouldn't have had a chance to fly any family in for his debut, as Methot participated in the morning skate and coach Dave Cameron announced there would be no changes to the lineup.
"If you're not prepared you're going to get caught, and that's not a good thing," Wideman, who was paired with Jared Cowen, said when status quo was still in effect.