Calgary Flames prospects Zayne Parekh and Sam Morton both scored their first NHL goals in the third period of Thursday&#8217;s game against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.
Parekh, 19, netted his first career professional tally at the 8:24 mark of the final frame in L.A., as part of a stretch in which the Flames scored four goals in 5:20 of game time en route to a 5-1 victory.
With the Flames already leading the Kings 3-0, Parekh drove through the middle of the ice before deflecting a low shot by Mikael Backlund past goaltender David Rittich. Parekh started the play with an interception along the wall and finished it off by colliding with an unsuspecting Blake Coleman.
Backlund scored a goal of his own — his 15th of the season — just over three minutes later to make it 5-0 Flames.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
ZAYNE PAREKH JOINS IN ON THE FUN! 🎉
He&#39;s also got his first NHL goal in his first NHL game!
🇺🇸: <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a> ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm">https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm</a> 🇨🇦: <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sportsnet</a> or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF">https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZFjjBBR1m7">pic.twitter.com/ZFjjBBR1m7</a>
&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1913078939750117495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Morton, 25, kicked off the flurry of Flames goals with his own milestone marker at the 6:05 mark of the period, finishing off a picture-perfect 3-on-1 rush alongside Dryden Hunt and Ryan Lomberg.
The former Minnesota State Mavericks captain skated directly through the middle of the ice and drove toward the net as Hunt and Lomberg passed the puck from wing to wing. As Lomberg flipped the puck into the crease, Morton chipped it past Rittich and celebrated wildly as he fell to the ice in the corner.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
WELCOME TO THE NHL MORTY! <a href="https://t.co/Wfqdhvuexf">pic.twitter.com/Wfqdhvuexf</a>
&mdash; Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1913076977319420035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Parekh and Morton weren&#8217;t the only players to score in their NHL debuts on Thursday. Kings forward Taylor Ward also made his first career appearance and had a number of quality chances in the first two periods before finally capitalizing in the third period to make it 5-1.
The Flames originally selected Parekh with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 6&#8217;0&#8243; righty is the first defenceman since Bobby Orr to record multiple 30-goal seasons in the OHA/OHL and is coming off a staggering 107-point year with the Saginaw Spirit in 2024-25.
The undrafted Morton signed his entry-level deal with the Flames last March. The Lafayette, Colorado product has 20 goals and 45 points in 69 games with the AHL&#8217;s Calgary Wranglers in the 2024-25 regular season; he could challenge for the No. 4 centre job with the Flames next year.
According to the <a href="https://x.com/SNstats/status/1913080223693742276">Sportsnet Stats social media account</a>, Parekh and Morton are the first teammates to score their first NHL goals in the same game since Mike Zigomanis and Tomas Kurka did so for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Phoenix Coyotes on February 26, 2003.

Calgary Flames prospects Zayne Parekh and Sam Morton both scored their first NHL goals in the third period of Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

Parekh, 19, netted his first career professional tally at the 8:24 mark of the final frame in L.A., as part of a stretch in which the Flames scored four goals in 5:20 of game time en route to a 5-1 victory.

With the Flames already leading the Kings 3-0, Parekh drove through the middle of the ice before deflecting a low shot by Mikael Backlund past goaltender David Rittich. Parekh started the play with an interception along the wall and finished it off by colliding with an unsuspecting Blake Coleman.

Backlund scored a goal of his own — his 15th of the season — just over three minutes later to make it 5-0 Flames.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1913078939750117495

Morton, 25, kicked off the flurry of Flames goals with his own milestone marker at the 6:05 mark of the period, finishing off a picture-perfect 3-on-1 rush alongside Dryden Hunt and Ryan Lomberg.

The former Minnesota State Mavericks captain skated directly through the middle of the ice and drove toward the net as Hunt and Lomberg passed the puck from wing to wing. As Lomberg flipped the puck into the crease, Morton chipped it past Rittich and celebrated wildly as he fell to the ice in the corner.

https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1913076977319420035

Parekh and Morton weren't the only players to score in their NHL debuts on Thursday. Kings forward Taylor Ward also made his first career appearance and had a number of quality chances in the first two periods before finally capitalizing in the third period to make it 5-1.

The Flames originally selected Parekh with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 6'0" righty is the first defenceman since Bobby Orr to record multiple 30-goal seasons in the OHA/OHL and is coming off a staggering 107-point year with the Saginaw Spirit in 2024-25.

The undrafted Morton signed his entry-level deal with the Flames last March. The Lafayette, Colorado product has 20 goals and 45 points in 69 games with the AHL's Calgary Wranglers in the 2024-25 regular season; he could challenge for the No. 4 centre job with the Flames next year.

According to the <a href="https://x.com/SNstats/status/1913080223693742276">Sportsnet Stats social media account</a>, Parekh and Morton are the first teammates to score their first NHL goals in the same game since Mike Zigomanis and Tomas Kurka did so for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Phoenix Coyotes on February 26, 2003.

WATCH: Zayne Parekh, Sam Morton score first NHL goals in Los Angeles

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