Filip Gustavsson made history on October 15, becoming the first Minnesota Wild goaltender to score a goal, and just the 15th in the National Hockey League.
A goalie goal is three times rarer than a five-goal game, and an intentional goalie goal — when the goalie shoots into an empty net, rather than being credited as the last player to touch the puck —has happened just 11 times.
The 26-year-old Swedish goaltender had saved 27 of 28 shots when he took one of his own, giving the Wild a 4-1 lead over the St. Louis Blues it would not relinquish.
Gustavsson said after he had never scored a goalie goal at any level.
In honor of Gustavsson’s feat, the NHL released a video of every goalie goal in league history.
The first direct shot goalie goal did not happen until Ron Hextall shot the length of the ice in 1987, although Gustavsson’s is the third in last two years.
