BLOG: Puljujarvi breaks goal drought in front of his dad

DALLAS, TX - With a burst of speed and a little luck, Jesse Puljujarvi finally got to raise his hands after the red light.
The Oilers winger had been waiting for what must have felt like an eternity to score, having not found the back of the net since Oct. 26 against the St. Louis Blues.
"Yeah, it's been a long time since I scored last time, so it felt good," Puljujarvi said about the long-awaited marker. "It went in a little bit lucky, but I'll take those. I was just a little bit upset we didn't get those two points last night, but we'll keep it going and get those two points tomorrow."
Twenty-five games had passed since the former fourth-overall pick had tipped a Darnell Nurse point shot past Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, but this goal couldn't have come at a better time for Puljujarvi. The Oilers current two-game road trip is 'The Dads Trip' where mentors, brothers, and dads of course, join the team on the road to see how their sons live out their lifelong dream.
Jesse's dad Jari Puljujarvi had travelled all the way from Finland for the occasion, and he was in the stands at Bridgestone Arena to watch his son get the proverbial monkey off his back.
"It was nice. He doesn't get to be here every game, so it was a good time to score," Jesse said.

According to the younger Puljujarvi, his dad had always tried to coach him up as he grew up playing the game - tried being the operative word. Jesse joked after practice that the lessons didn't always take, but he was always appreciative of the support over his career.
"I think he has always been really positive about everything and (he's always been) a good help," Puljujarvi said.
Last night in Nashville, the 24-year-old skated on a line with Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele, with the trio combining for four shots in their roughly 11 minutes of ice time. The line provided a bit of spark for the Oilers on Monday, with several good shifts in the offensive zone.
"They contributed with a few things," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said about the line, "Foegele drew a few penalties with some speed and just hanging onto the puck. Then obviously for Jesse to get onto board by getting our first goal, I thought that was real positive for him. The bench was very happy to see him get that, and I thought they gave us some good minutes."
When Puljujarvi made the quick deke at the blue line to beat Tanner Jeannot for the clean zone entry and fired the sharp angle shot through Juuse Saros, the Oilers bench did indeed erupt. The fist bumps and head taps that followed were indicative of a team that just wanted to see a snake-bitten teammate succeed.
"It was great. I mean, he's been working hard, shooting the puck a lot, and to see him make a nice play at the blue line and put that one in, it was also a big goal for a team at that time too," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said about the goal. "Definitely happy for him and I think everybody was pretty excited on the bench."
With seven points (2G, 5A) in his first 33 games, this has been far from the start Puljujarvi had wanted for the season. Yet, the Oilers forward has found other ways to contribute to the lineup when he's not seeing his name on the stat sheet. The 6-foot-4 winger has been throwing his weight around this season and he currently leads the team with 69 hits on the season.

"I think right now when it's not going in and I don't have that many points, it's good to get in the game and get those good hits and be physical," Puljujarvi said. "It is a big part of my game right now."
Now that he has broken the goal drought, the focus is all on when that next goal comes. The situation raises the question -- if Jesse scores again on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, will they have to fly his dad out for every game?
"Yes," Puljujarvi said. "Coach Woodcroft said that's going to be okay if I score tomorrow."