Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic scored a goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday night.
Nedeljkovic scored into an empty net at 17:18 of the third period after the Sabres pulled their goalie for an extra skater. Nedeljkovic also assisted on forward Cody Glass’ goal in the second period.
Nedeljkovic is the first goaltender in NHL history to score and assist on a goal in a game. He is the 16th goalie to score a goal and second this season, joining the Minnesota Wild’s Filip Gustavsson who scored in a win over the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 15, 2024.
FIRST GOALIE WITH A GOAL AND AN ASSIST IN A GAME IN NHL HISTORY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wQ8XYPtEY5
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 18, 2025
The Penguins have ties to the last three NHL goalies to score a goal. Gustavsson is a former prospect, a second-round selection by the Penguins in 2016 before he was traded to the Wild. Tristan Jarry scored a goal for the Penguins on Nov. 30, 2023, in a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Anytime you have a two- or three-goal lead like that, you’re thinking about it,” Nedlejkovic said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast.
“I think I might have been thinking about it a little too much at first, when (the Sabres pulled goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen) with about five minutes left.
“We did a good job of clearing out the middle, all those spots. You know, I wasn’t sure it was going to make it on its own and get all the way down. It’s pretty exciting.”
NHL goalie goals since 2020
|
Player
|
Team
|
Opponent
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Penguins |
Sabres |
Jan. 17. 2025 |
|
|
Wild |
Blues |
Oct. 15, 2024 |
|
|
Penguins |
Lightning |
Nov. 30, 2023 |
|
|
Bruins |
Canucks |
Feb. 25, 2023 |
|
|
Predators |
Blackhawks |
Jan. 9, 2020 |
Nedeljkovic also made 40 saves for the Penguins, who are only a day removed from placing Jarry in the AHL after he cleared waivers.
Alex Nedeljkovic with the puck from the goal he scored against the Sabres on Jan. 17, 2025 (Photo: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)
Jarry signed a five-year contract in July 2023 and was ticketed to be the Penguins’ franchise goalie. Nedeljkvoic signed a one-year contract that summer, and eventually supplanted Jarry as the starting goalie late last season. Nedeljkovic re-signed last summer for two years.
And he is no stranger to scoring goalies. Nedeljkovic also netted goals in an AHL and ECHL game.
(Photo: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)
