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New Papa Taylor Chorney has two reasons to celebrate tonight – he and his wife Haley welcomed their new son into the world this week and Taylor scored his first goal for the Capitals — the second goal of his career.

The goal – the first of the game – came late in the first period as Evengy Kuznetsov, flicked a quick pass to TJ Oshie. Chorney says that he called for the puck and picked up Oshie’s quick backward pass to launch the biscuit past Maple Leaf’s goalie Jonathan Bernier. “I didn’t really even look. I just kinda threw it up at the net,” said Chorney of his score.

While Chorney feels that he’s been playing well, this goal is a bit of a relief for him, “To get the monkey off your back, it takes a little bit of the pressure off”. However, this goal is just one of the special events in his life. He admits that life with a newborn is hectic and he hasn’t had much sleep but it’s all worth it. “Hopefully, someday he’ll [Chorney’s son] be able to one day jump on YouTube to see the goal; maybe I’ll keep the puck for him”.

The Capitals picked up Chorney on July 1, 2015 on a one-year contract from the Edmonton Oilers. During Brooks Orpik’s recent stint on the injured reserve list, Chorney was a great stand in on the third defensive line. Chorney has recorded five assists (a career-high) while averaging 12:54 minutes of ice time and earning a plus-11 in 45 games played this season with the Capitals. Chorney has proven his worth on the Capitals defensive line and on February 19 accepted a two-year, $1.6 million contract extension. You can read more about Chorney in this article published by NoVa Caps on February 2/19 Chorney Signs Two Year Contract Extension.

By Stephanie Judge