The First Of The Season

Sometimes, there are players who bounce through the NHL that teams may have moved or given up on long before they hit their strides. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson may be one of those players as he seems to be a solid netminder with the Minnesota Wild. Drafted 55th-overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016, they moved him to Ottawa in a forgettable trade for Vince Dunn, and Ottawa shipped him to Minnesota for Cam Talbot. Over the last two seasons, Gustavsson seems to be the goalie that Pittsburgh wanted when they drafted him as he's gone 42-26-12 in the Wild's crease while starting this season 2-0-1.

Gustavsson won his second game last night against St. Louis, and he did it in style by adding his name to the NHL history books!
Filip Gustavsson becomes the 16th goaltender in NHL history to score or be credited with a goal with his marker at 19:51 of the third period. His goal is the 11th goalie goal to be scored on the road of the 18 goalie goals scored, and it marks the third time in three seasons that the NHL has seen a goalie score a goal!

Here is the list of goalies who have scored or been credited with a goal during an NHL game:

• Billy Smith, NY Islanders – Nov. 28, 1979 at Colorado
• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia – Dec. 8, 1987 vs. Boston
• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia – Apr. 11, 1989 at Washington*
• Chris Osgood, Detroit – Mar. 6, 1996 at Hartford
• Martin Brodeur, New Jersey – Apr. 17, 1997 vs. Montreal
• Damian Rhodes, Ottawa – Jan 2, 1999 vs. New Jersey
• Martin Brodeur, New Jersey – Feb. 15, 2000 vs. Philadelphia**
• Jose Theodore, Montreal – Jan. 2, 2001 at NY Islanders
• Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose – Mar. 10, 2002 at Vancouver***
• Mika Noronen, Buffalo – Feb. 14, 2004 at Toronto
• Chris Mason, Nashville – Apr. 15, 2006 vs Phoenix
• Cam Ward, Carolina – Dec. 26, 2011 vs. New Jersey
• Martin Brodeur, New Jersey – Mar. 21, 2013 at Carolina***
• Mike Smith, Phoenix – Oct. 19, 2013 vs. Detroit
• Pekka Rinne, Nashville - Jan. 9, 2020 at Chicago
• Linus Ullmark, Boston - Feb. 25, 2023 at Vancouver
• Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh - Nov. 30, 2023 at Tampa Bay
• Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota - Oct. 15, 2024 at St. Louis***

Some quick notes: the italicized goals above were scored in the playoffs. The single asterisk denotes a shorthanded goal, the double-asterisk goal denotes a game-winning goal, and the triple-asterisk goals were scored on the power-play. 14 different teams have had a goal scored by a goaltender while 15 different teams have been victimized by a goalie goal. Nashville is the only team who has had two different goalies score for them.

For those wondering, Gustavsson stopped 27 shots in the 4-1 win over St. Louis while helping his own cause with his goal. It was an unassisted goal after he gloved the slap shot from the neutral zone from Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich before sending it right back down the ice. Philip Broberg was in the penalty box serving a high-sticking double-minor penalty when Gustavsson scored, giving him the power-play marker.

Officially, Gustavsson now has the earliest goalie goal in NHL history, beating Mike Smith by four days. What may be even funnier for hockey fans is that Filip Gustavsson now has more goals this season than all of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Brad Marchand, Steven Stamkos, Zach Hyman, Jake Guentzel, and Carter Verhaeghe. We all know that won't last through 82 games, but it's a cool little fact that Gustavsson can hold onto when telling his kids and grandkids about the time he scored in the NHL!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!