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It was a night Boston Bruins fans in Billerica, Mass. will never forget.
Marc McLaughlin, the native son of Billerica, scored a goal for the Bruins in his NHL debut, part of an 8-1 rout of the New Jersey Devils on Thursday at TD Garden.
Marc McLaughlin, Bruins relish in Billerica native's 'surreal' debut
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By finding the back of the net in his first NHL game, McLaughlin joined a short list of players born in Massachusetts to not only score in their NHL debuts, but score in their debuts for the Bruins.
McLaughlin became the fifth Bay State native to score in his first NHL game for the Bruins, following Ryan Donato, Frank Vatrano, Shawn Bates and Hago Harrington, who accomplished the feat some 97 years ago.
Hopefully McLaughlin has some more staying power with the Black and Gold than Donato and Vatrano, each of whom were traded within two years of their debuts within the last decade. Donato did net the Bruins another Massachusetts native, at least, in Weymouth's Charlie Coyle.
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Donato is now playing for the expansion Seattle Kraken and Vatrano for the New York Rangers. Bates, who went on to play 10 NHL seasons with Boston and the New York Islanders, is now head coach of the boys' hockey team at his alma mater, Medford High School.
