Blue Jackets' Horton Becomes First Player with Goal in Game He Didn't Play

Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Nathan Horton will go down as the answer to a unique bit of trivia following Wednesday's 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars, as he became the first player in stats recorded since 1989-90 to score a goal in a game that he didn't play in, per NHL.com.

Horton initially scored his goal in the first period of a Mar. 10 match between the two teams, but the game was postponed about four minutes later, when Stars forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench following a cardiac emergency. The two teams later rescheduled the game for Wednesday, agreeing to a new 60-minute match, but with the Blue Jackets opening with a 1-0 lead they attained through Horton's goal.

However, since the game happened a month ago, the two teams weren't beholden to the same lineups they used Mar. 10. As a result, Horton was able to sit out Wednesday, having aggravated a lower-body injury a night earlier in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes. His goal officially went down as occurring at the 0:00 mark of the first period in Wednesday's win.

While Horton's goal represents the only known instance in NHL history in which a player was credited with a goal in a game he didn't play, it's not the first time a player has scored a point under such circumstances.

According to STATS, LLC, the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators postponed a game in 2005 when the Red Wings' Jiri Fischer collapsed during play. The Predators' Scottie Upshall notched an assist before the postponement, but didn't suit up in the make-up game.