Why Goals Scored by Goalies are Still the Craziest Thing in Hockey

It’s the rarest sight in sports. Honestly, think about it. You’ve got a guy wearing thirty pounds of oversized foam and leather, standing sixty feet away from the action, whose entire professional existence is dedicated to stopping pucks. Then, suddenly, the other team pulls their netminder for an extra attacker. The goalie handles the puck behind his own red line. He looks up. He sees that yawning 4-by-6-foot rectangle at the other end of the rink. He lofts a saucer pass that defies gravity, soaring over everyone’s heads, landing flat in the neutral zone, and trickling into the net.

The building goes absolutely ballistic. It’s better than a hat trick. It’s better than a game-winning save. Goals scored by goalies are basically the hockey equivalent of a solar eclipse—you know they happen, but when you actually see one, you can't help but stare.

The Myth and the Reality of the Goalie Goal

People think these goals are just lucky accidents. They aren't. Not usually, anyway. While some of the early entries in the record books were "credited" goals—where the goalie was just the last player on his team to touch the puck before the opponent put it in their own net—the modern era is all about the "shot."

Take Ron Hextall. He changed everything. Before Hextall, goalies were mostly just shot-blockers. But Hextall was a puck-handler who treated his stick like a weapon. On December 8, 1987, playing for the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins, he became the first goalie to actually shoot the puck into the opponent's net. He didn't just stumble into it. He aimed. He fired. He scored. Then he did it again in the playoffs a couple of years later against the Capitals. He proved that goals scored by goalies could be a deliberate offensive tactic rather than a fluke of physics.

Why Do We Care So Much?

It’s the sheer audacity of the play. Hockey is a game of rigid roles. For 59 minutes, the goalie is a sentinel. When he crosses that imaginary line and tries to score, he’s breaking the social contract of the sport.

There’s also the technical difficulty. Have you ever tried to clear a puck with goalie gloves on? It’s like trying to play the violin while wearing oven mitts. The stick is heavy. The blade is flat and awkward. To get enough lift to clear the opposing defensemen while keeping enough accuracy to hit a target 180 feet away requires incredible forearm strength and touch.

The "Credited" Goal vs. The "Shot" Goal

We have to make a distinction here because the NHL record books don't always reflect the "coolness" factor.

🔗 Read more: Texas vs Oklahoma Football Game: Why the Red River Rivalry is Getting Even Weirder

• The Shot: This is the gold standard. The goalie gains possession, looks up, and fires a deliberate lob or a line drive into the empty net. Martin Brodeur was a master of this. He actually has three career goals, though only one was a direct shot.
• The Gift: This happens during a delayed penalty or an empty-net situation where the opposing team messes up a pass and it slides into their own goal. Since the goalie was the last player on the scoring team to touch it, he gets the credit. Billy Smith of the New York Islanders was the first to ever get credit this way in 1979. He didn't even know he'd scored until later. Kinda takes the sting out of it, right?

The Martin Brodeur Factor

You can't talk about goals scored by goalies without mentioning Brodeur. The guy was basically a third defenseman. He was so good at handling the puck that the NHL literally changed the rules to stop him—the "trapezoid" behind the net exists because Brodeur was killing the dump-and-chase game.

Brodeur’s goal in the 1997 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens is the stuff of legend. The Devils were up 4-2. Montreal had the net empty. Brodeur gathered the puck, set his feet, and launched a perfect arc. It wasn't just a goal; it was a statement. It solidified the idea that the goalie could be a scoring threat. When he scored his third career goal in 2013 against the Hurricanes, it was a weird one—a "credited" goal because Dan Ellis had headed to the bench—but it just added to the aura.

Linus Ullmark and the Modern Revival

For a while, it felt like the goalie goal was dying out. Systems became more disciplined. Teams got better at blocking the "long ball." But then Linus Ullmark happened.

In February 2023, the Boston Bruins were facing the Vancouver Canucks. With less than a minute left, Ullmark caught a puck, dropped it, and fired a bullet. What made this one special was the celebration. Usually, goalies are a bit shy about it. Not Ullmark. He got mobbed by the entire team. It reminded everyone that despite the high-stakes, billion-dollar business of the NHL, hockey is still a game played by people who love doing cool stuff.

The Physics of the Long-Distance Flip

Why is it so hard? Well, gravity for one.

Most players use a stick with a significant "lie" and a curved blade designed for snap shots. A goalie's stick is designed to stay flat on the ice. To get the puck into the air, the goalie has to use a "scoop" motion or a very specific flick of the wrists. If they don't get enough height, the puck is easily intercepted at the blue line, which usually leads to an immediate goal for the other team. It's a high-risk, high-reward play.

💡 You might also like: How to watch vikings game online free without the usual headache

If a goalie misses the net, it’s an automatic icing. That brings the faceoff all the way back into their own zone. Their tired teammates can't change lines. The coach is screaming. It’s a disaster. That’s why most goalies just choose to freeze the puck or rim it around the boards. You have to have some serious guts—or "stones," as they say in the locker room—to go for the goal.

Every NHL Goalie Who Has Scored (The Direct Shot Club)

It's a short list. That's what makes it prestigious.

1. Ron Hextall (1987 & 1989): The pioneer. He did it twice.
2. Chris Osgood (1996): People forget how good Osgood’s hands were.
3. Martin Brodeur (1997): His only "true" shot goal of his three total.
4. Jose Theodore (2001): He did it on a backhand! Seriously, a backhand.
5. Evgeni Nabokov (2002): The first European goalie to do it.
6. Mike Smith (2013): He caught the puck, dropped it, and beat the buzzer with 0.1 seconds left.
7. Pekka Rinne (2020): A beautiful high-arc flip against Chicago.
8. Linus Ullmark (2023): The goal that broke the internet that week.
9. Tristan Jarry (2023): The first Penguins goalie to ever pull it off.

Notice the gaps? Years go by between these events. It’s not something you can practice into existence. You need the perfect storm of a two-goal lead (for safety), an empty net, and enough space to breathe.

What Most People Get Wrong About These Goals

There's this weird misconception that these goals don't matter because they usually happen in empty-net situations. "It's not a real goal if there's no goalie," some critics say.

That’s nonsense.

The psychological impact of goals scored by goalies is massive. It’s the ultimate disrespect to the losing team. You didn't just lose; you let the guy in the "Michelin Man" suit score on you. It shifts the momentum for the next game in a series. It’s a soul-crusher.

📖 Related: Liechtenstein National Football Team: Why Their Struggles are Different Than You Think

Also, people think it's just an NHL thing. It's actually more common in the AHL and junior leagues because the defense isn't as tight. But in the show? In the NHL? Everything has to be perfect.

The Future: Will We See More?

Honestly, probably not.

Coaches are getting more conservative, not less. The "Expected Goals" era of hockey means coaches hate low-percentage plays. Throwing the puck 180 feet is the definition of a low-percentage play. If a goalie tries it and misses, he’s going to hear about it in the video room the next morning.

However, we are seeing a generation of goalies who are much better athletes. They grew up watching Brodeur and Smith. They practice their stick-handling. They want to be involved. You see guys like Igor Shesterkin or Andrei Vasilevskiy who look like they’re itching to take a crack at it whenever the net is empty.

Actionable Insights for Fans and Aspiring Goalies

If you're watching a game and want to predict when a goalie might score, look for these three things:

• The Two-Goal Lead: This is crucial. No goalie is going to risk an icing or a turnover if the game is only one goal apart. They need that cushion.
• The "Clean" Dump: The puck needs to come to the goalie cleanly, usually on a dump-in that hits the boards behind the net. If the goalie has to scramble, he won't have time to set his feet.
• The Passive Forecheck: If the team with the extra attacker is playing a "1-2-2" or isn't pressuring the goalie immediately, that's his window.

For the goalies out there: Practice your footwork. Most goalie goals fail because the goalie doesn't square his shoulders to the target before firing. It’s exactly like a golf swing. If your hips are closed, the puck is going into the bench.

Ultimately, goals scored by goalies remain the ultimate "wait, did that just happen?" moment in sports. They remind us that even in a game of systems and structures, there is still room for a bit of madness. Next time you see a goalie look up at that empty net, don't look away. You might be about to see history.

Practical Next Steps for Fans:

• Watch the highlights: Search for Mike Smith’s 2013 goal to see the most dramatic timing.
• Track the "Goalie Goal Watch": Follow specialized hockey stats accounts on social media that track goalie shot attempts.
• Pay attention to the Trapezoid: Notice how it limits where goalies can play the puck, making the "direct shot" from the center of the zone the only viable way to score.