When a NHL Goalie Scores

[00:00:00] On March 6, 1996, Detroit's Chris Osgood became the third goalie in NHL history to score a goal, firing the puck to an empty net with just 11 seconds left to go in a victory versus the Hartford Whalers. From a position that's normally known for doing saves and being the linchpin of the defense, achieving a goalie goal is one of the most rare feats in NHL history and also one of the most exciting.

[00:00:28] We're going to dive into the history of goalie goals today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge.

[00:00:51] And today's trivia question is, what goalie holds the record for the most goals scored in NHL history? Listen to the episode to find out and if you miss it, I will give it to you at the very end. So in hockey, there are six different positions. There's the center, who's usually the leader of the team's offense, but also has a crucial role on both offense and defense and is one of the major playmakers on the team.

[00:01:19] Then you have the left and the right wings. These usually flank out or go to the sides of the center and are responsible for generating most of the offensive opportunities. And then you have a left and right defenseman. And like the name sounds, these ones are to help the defensive role. They can also score, as we talked about in a previous episode about Bobby Orr, and provide additional support on offense.

[00:01:43] But their main goal is to be back and help on defense and help the main defender of the team, the goalie. Now the goalie in hockey is similar to the goalie in soccer. Both defend a goal, but the goalie in hockey is defending a much faster projectile. And believe it or not, when hockey first started, they just were out there on skates and a stick. They had no additional equipment, no face mask, no additional pads. That adapted over time.

[00:02:14] And during a game, a puck regularly speeds over 100 miles an hour when struck with a powerful slap shot. So when you see a goalie and they're all decked out, they look like the marshmallow man, they can barely move. There's a reason for that because these pucks are flying and a puck is very hard. But one thing we don't see very much is the goalie scoring.

[00:02:38] And there's a reason for that is because goalies have limitations on where they are able to go in the course of a game. And because of that, for them to score, they have to shoot it across the entire ice. Which means even if they got that speed slap shot that the other players get, which is very hard because their stick is wider and thicker than a regular hockey stick. It is still traveling the length of the ice to get to the other side.

[00:03:04] So if there's a goalie there, it's unlikely that the other goalie will not be able to stop it. Because they have all the time in the world to prepare to stop that goal. Now, like in most sports, hockey also has the unfortunate side effect as record keeping back in the day is not as robust as it is today. So the first goalie goal probably happened way back in the day as hockey was a lot looser with the rules and players could move around more freely.

[00:03:33] But it wasn't until 1979 when the first official goalie goal was made by Billy Smith of the New York Islanders. But this wasn't a true goal as he scored it on his own goal. So it wasn't really a goal. In 1977, Rogi Vakan was considered the first goalie to make a goal. But it was later accredited to an own goal by the other team.

[00:03:57] So the first true goal where the goalie scored on the other team was Ron Hextall in 1987. When he etched his name into the history books being the first goalie to score when he shot the puck across the ice to an empty net. And the reason why there was an empty net is this happens sometimes in hockey. At the end of the game when a team is trying to finish the game they basically give themselves a power play.

[00:04:24] Giving them an extra offensive player to try to score at the end of the game to get a win. And so you pull your goalie out meaning you have almost no defense and you go all offense. But what happens is if a goalie can get a hold of the puck and shoot it across the ice. There's nothing stopping it other than other players from going into the net.

[00:04:46] And in 1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Gary Smith was injured while trying to rush to be part of an offensive play. And because of this, the NHL put in a new rule saying goaltenders could not cross the center red line to play the puck. Which meant it was a lot harder for them to score. And there have been a total of 19 goals scored by goaltenders. 12 of them were shot into opposing team's nets by the goalie.

[00:05:16] Two goaltenders have scored a goal and earned a shutout in the same game. And that was Damien Rhodes of the Ottawa Senators in 1999. And Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens in 2001. And Theodore scored his goal with a backhanded shot. And there have been two goalies to score more than one goal. That's the first one, Ron Hextall scored two.

[00:05:41] And Martin Brodeur, who got his first one two years after Chris Osgood in 1997. Then did another one in 2000 and scored his final goal in 2013. And the most recent one happened on January 17th, 2025. That was Alex Neletevic of the Pittsburgh Penguins scoring against the Buffalo Sabres.

[00:06:06] And Martin Brodeur is the only goaltender to score a game winning goal on his second goal that he scored. And both Ron Hextall and Martin Brodeur are the only two score goals in the playoffs. And what's crazy is the fact that there's been 19 of these. And there have been two in the current season in the NHL. Maybe this is just a sign that more goalie goals are going to happen in the future. Which is an exciting thing.

[00:06:34] Because it's always fun to see the guy that only gets to play defense score. Just like it's great to watch linemen in football get a chance to hold the football or score a touchdown. It's always fun to see the unsung hero get a little bit of joy and love. I want to thank you for listening to today's daily sports history. And if you want more Red Wings history, check out the Grindline Red Wings podcast. It's your weekly podcast covering all things Detroit.

[00:07:05] From their team to the news and all that is going on around the NHL. We'll put a link in the description for you to check them out. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please like and subscribe wherever you are at. That way you don't miss an episode. And we will see you again next week on Daily Sports History. And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question? What goalie has scored the most goals in NHL history?

[00:07:33] And the answer is Martine Brodeur. One of the greatest goalies of all time has scored three goals in his legendary career.