At long last, Fifth Avenue Sports can finally provide you with an update on our official Emil Bemström Six Goal Watch™.
Back on February 22nd, the Penguins traded forward Alex Nylander (who was in the AHL in the Pens’ organization at the time) and a 2026 sixth round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Bemström.
However, that sixth round pick had an odd condition attached to it: if Bemström scored six or more goals in Pittsburgh during the remainder of this season, that sixth rounder upgraded all the way to a third round pick.
For Bemström, who had scored 5 goals in 32 games for Columbus, it seemed unlikely that he would score 6+ in about a month and a half.
Bemström made things real interesting early on though. Three days after his trade, he scored in his Penguins debut with a wicked wrist shot.
This goal ended up being pivotal in a back and forth, wild game against the Philadelphia Flyers, where Pittsburgh won 7-6.
That night, I officially started the Emil Bemström Six Goal Watch™, and the belief was that while Bemström likely wouldn’t hit the number of goals needed to upgrade the pick, he would make things pretty close.
Then, things went silent. He did not score a goal in his next 16 games, and only recorded 2 assists over that time. As a result, he saw his ice time get chipped away ever so slowly. He got bumped down to the fourth line as offensive production continued to lack, and eventually he found himself in the press box.
With Jonathan Gruden being around just long enough for games, the emergence of Jesse Puljujarvi as an NHL regular, and the call-up of Sam Poulin, Bemström was relegated to being a healthy scratch.
His last game prior to tonight was March 24th, where he had a season low 6:15 time on ice (between both Pittsburgh and Columbus). He was scratched for three straight games, including back to back games against his former team, the Blue Jackets.
Tonight, however, Bemström drew back into the lineup and made an impact. Coming off a turnover by the New York Rangers, Bemström wound up with a breakaway, and he left no doubt about it when he potted one past Igor Shesterkin.
This goal was actually incredibly important for the Penguins. Though it gave the Pens a 3-0 lead at the time, it wound up standing as the game winner, with the Rangers tallying two goals later in the period to make things real tight.
Two empty net goals by Pittsburgh made it a 5-2 final, but this breakaway goal by Bemström stood as a huge insurance marker for the team.
So now, we are officially at 2 on the Emil Bemström Six Goal Watch™. Tune back in if/when he scores again!
(Featured photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
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