Gustavsson Gets His First

There are a lot of words that can be used to describe Jonas Gustavsson: goaltender, journeyman, Swede, Bakersfield Condor, former Oiler/Bruin/Red Wing/Maple Leaf. The one thing that he's never been called before is "goal scorer", but that all changed tonight in an AHL game against the San Diego Gulls. There's nothing quite like finding out that a goaltender has scored a goal, and Jonas Gustavsson gets to write his name into the record books tonight as he was added to the list of goal-scoring goalies.

Gustavsson became the 12th goalie in 81 AHL seasons to be credited with a goal, and the first since Reto Berra's goal with Lake Erie against Chicago on January 16, 2015. Gustavsson didn't actually shoot the puck, as you'll see below, but he was the last player to touch the puck for the Condors before the puck came to rest in the San Diego net.

With San Diego down 4-1 on the scoreboard and on a 5-on-3 power-play with just over three minutes to play in the game, San Diego pulled Dustin Tokarski to go up 6-on-3 as they looked to climb back into the game. From there, I'll let the video take over.

The Bakersfield commentators are loving that sequence. San Diego's Spencer Abbot missed the net after the puck grazed Gustavsson shoulder, and the puck ended up on the stick of Kalle Kossila who passed the puck to the point without looking. Those last two words - "without looking" - are important because the pass missed what appears to be Shea Theodore at the right point, and slides all the way down into the San Diego net for the goal. With Gustavsson being the last Condors player to touch the puck, that's his first goal of his North American pro career!

Gustavsson was named the second star of the game after stopping 30 of 31 shots for the win, but let's be honest in saying that he probably should have been first star for the goal, the stats line, and the win. With his goal, Gustavsson adds his name to the following list:

• Darcy Wakaluk, Rochester – Dec. 5, 1987 at Utica
• Paul Cohen, Springfield – Mar. 28, 1992 vs. Rochester
• Robb Stauber, Rochester – Oct. 9, 1995 at Prince Edward Island
• Christian Bronsard, Syracuse – Oct. 30, 1999 at Rochester
• Jean-Francois Labbe, Hartford – Feb. 5, 2000 at Quebec
• Chris Mason, Milwaukee – Oct. 15, 2001 at Utah
• Antero Niittymaki, Philadelphia – Apr. 11, 2004 at Hershey (OT goal)
• Seamus Kotyk, Milwaukee – Apr. 17, 2005 at San Antonio
• Drew MacIntyre, Manitoba – Feb. 20, 2008 at Chicago (OT goal)
• Chris Holt, Binghamton – Mar. 19, 2010 vs. Rochester
• Reto Berra, Lake Erie – Jan. 16, 2015 at Chicago
• Jonas Gustavsson, Bakersfield – Mar. 24, 2017 vs. San Diego

Congratulations, Jonas Gustavsson!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!