Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark took matters into his own hands on Saturday, coming up huge for Boston on the defensive end, but also sealing the deal on offense late into the game.
With less than one minute on the clock, the Canucks were playing with an extra attacker, forgoing their goaltender in order to do so. After a puck deflected in front of his stick, Ullmark decided to line up a long-ranged shot rather than send a pass off to a teammate.
Miraculously, Ullmark managed to beat the entire Vancouver defense and sink the puck perfectly into the Canucks’ net for a goalie goal, sealing a 3–1 victory for the Bruins.
The empty net did not pay off for Vancouver whatsoever on this occasion, as Ullmark quickly spotted a hole in the defense and sailed a puck over the team’s back line, right into the goal.
Almost as sweet as the actual shot itself was the celebration from Ullmark and his Bruins teammates. Boston defensemen Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort, among others, were quick to give the All-Star goalie a congratulatory hug as the Vancouver crowd looked on in awe.
Goalie goals are one of the rarest sights in hockey. The last time a goalie scored in an NHL game was back in January of 2020 when Pekka Rinne of the Predators pulled a fast one on the Red Wings. In total, there have been 15 such goals, and only Martin Brodeur has scored more than one, having registered two.
The win over the Canucks sees the Bruins improve to 45-8-5 on the year, and they're finding no shortages of ways to put games away in order to protect their league-best record.
