Princeton alumni made their presence felt in Montreal on Tuesday night, with two Tigers combining for three points as the Carolina Hurricanes handed the Canadiens a 6-4 defeat in Montreal's home opener.
Taylor Hall led the charge with two goals, doing what he's done throughout his NHL career — showing up in big moments on a big stage. Sebastian Aho was the other catalyst with a goal and two assists, but the Princeton connection was impossible to ignore: Eric Robinson chipped in a goal and an assist alongside Hall, giving the Tigers a two-point night from Robinson on Bell Centre ice.
Hall is not listed among the active Princeton alumni tracked in the current NHL database — a reminder that the program's reach across the league runs deeper than any single snapshot. Robinson, however, is firmly on the radar as one of Carolina's contributors on the left wing. His multi-point game in Montreal was a statement performance, and he backed it up days later when the Hurricanes topped the Blackhawks 5-2 on Saturday, October 10, with Robinson adding another assist.
It's a quietly impressive week for Princeton hockey. The Ivy League program doesn't produce NHL talent at the volume of traditional hockey factories, but when Tigers do make it, they tend to be smart, versatile players who find ways to contribute at the highest level — Robinson being a textbook example. A two-way winger who doesn't overwhelm the boxscore on most nights, he posted two points across two games this week and looked every bit a reliable piece of a Hurricanes roster with legitimate Stanley Cup ambitions.
The Montreal game in particular carried some symmetry worth noting: two Princeton men, on the same sheet of ice, on the same team, helping dismantle a divisional opponent on opening night at the Bell Centre. That's not a common sight in professional hockey, and Tigers fans who made the trip — or stayed up late to watch — had plenty to cheer about.
Carolina's 6-4 win was no fluke. With Aho orchestrating and Hall finishing, the Hurricanes looked sharp in a road environment that rarely gives visiting teams an easy night. Robinson's contribution wasn't incidental — a goal and an assist in a game that required depth scoring to hold up against a Montreal squad that clawed back repeatedly.
For Princeton alumni tracking the NHL, this was the kind of week that earns a highlight reel. Robinson is worth watching as the season unfolds.
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