Devils forward Brian Boyle wasn't going to allow his cancer diagnosis dictate his playing career.
Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid luekemia, a form of bone-marrow cancer, on Sept. 19.
His focus remained on playing in his first season with the Devils. Boyle made small steps such as returning to practice and making his Devils debut. But on Thursday, when the Devils hosted the Edmonton Oilers, he crossed off that crucial milestone of scoring a goal off of his list.
With the Devils scoreless, Boyle fired off a shot but was pushed aside by Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot. Boyle regained control of the rebound to score against his former teammate.
It was not only Boyle's first goal with New Jersey, but the first period tally was the first goal that the 32-year-old scored since being first diagnosed with cancer.
While the goal gave the Devils an early lead over the Oilers, the look on Boyle's face after the score sums up what the moment meant for the Massachusetts native.
Brian Boyle admits he cried after scoring first goal since returning from chronic myeloid leukemia. Pretty special. pic.twitter.com/4J4Py8SABt
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 10, 2017