Stars' Johns holds back tears following 1st goal in nearly 2 years

Stephen Johns will never forget Monday night.

The Dallas Stars defenseman, who missed the 2018-19 season and the first 47 games of the 2019-20 campaign due to post-traumatic headaches, scored his first goal in nearly two years against the New York Rangers.

Johns was understandably very emotional while speaking with the media postgame.

"Waited a long time, thought a lot about ... possibly never doing that again," he said. "Helping this team at a crucial moment in the game, just couldn't be happier."

Johns' parents were in the stands to witness the tally, which put the Stars ahead 3-2 in their eventual 5-3 win.

"It makes it pretty special, my parents were here tonight," he said. "And throughout this whole process, it wasn't just me going through hell. As parents, they wanna help. For them to be here and see that, I probably know my dad was for sure crying. I'm pretty excited to go see them and give them both a big hug."

Including the preseason, regular season, and playoffs, Johns missed 160 games. Monday was just his fourth contest back, and he scored his first goal since Feb. 16, 2018.

The 27-year-old blue-liner was the Blackhawks' second-round pick in 2010. He's recorded 31 points in a 154-game NHL career.