Former Rider Abdelkader scores in Finals

Justin Abdelkader is the answer to this trivia question: Name the first former Cedar Rapids RoughRiders player to score a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals?

OK, that's kind of a stretch question, but Abdelkader did score in the Detroit Red Wings' 3-1 win over Pittsburgh in Game 1 of the Finals on Saturday night in Detroit. Abdelkader hopped on his own rebound (after jumping in the air to get it) and beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a shot that ended the scoring 2:46 into the third period.

It was Abdelkader's first career playoff goal and second playoff point. He has played eight postseason games for the Wings this season.

Abdelkader, 22, played on the RoughRiders' Clark Cup championship team in 2004-05.

"I actually got a good first shot off and Fluery made a great save," he said. "The puck went up in the air, I jumped up, grabbed it, pulled it down and put it on net."

Here's a story from The Hockey News on Game 1: