For the 20th time in National Hockey League history a goaltender has been credited with a goal. On Saturday, in the New York Islanders’s 7-4 win over the Nashville Predators at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin of Mezhdurechensk, Russia closed out the scoring with 12 seconds left in the third period.
How was Sorokin credited with the goal?
The Predators were down by two goals and were pressing near the Islanders net late in the third period. They had an extra attacker on the ice as they pulled goaltender Juuse Saros. Sorokin made two saves in the dying moments and the puck moved to Predators forward Steve Stamkos. Unfortunately for the Predators, when Stamkos tried to pass the puck back to the blueline, no one was there, and the puck trickled all the way into the Predators’s empty net. Sorokin was awarded the goal for the Islanders as he was the last Islanders player to touch the puck.
Third goalie with a goalie this season
Two other goalies have scored a goal this season. They are Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson of Skelleftea, Sweden and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic of Parma, Ohio. Gustavsson accomplished the feat in a 4-1 Wild win over the St. Louis Blues on October 15, 2024, and Nedeljkovic scored in a 5-2 Penguins win over the Buffalo Sabres on January 17, 2025. Gustavsson and Nedeljkovic both had shots on goal.
Second Islanders goalie with a credited goal
The first Islanders goaltender to be credited with a goal was Billy Smith of Perth, Ontario. Smith scored on a Rob Ramage own goal on November 28, 1979 in a 7-4 Islanders loss to the Colorado Rockies. Interestingly, Smith was the first goaltender to ever be credited with a goal in National Hockey League history.
Out of a playoff spot
With a win, the Islanders improved to a record of 27 wins, 25 regulation losses and seven losses in extra time for 61 points. They are five points back of the Detroit Red Wings for a playoff spot.
