Penguins' Alex Nedeljkovic Set Unbelievable NHL Record in Win vs Sabres

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The Pittsburgh Penguins had more to celebrate than just getting back into the win column on Friday night with their 5-2 victory over Buffalo.

Penguins netminder Alex Nedeljkovic made history in a pair of ways.

With roughly three minutes left in the game, the Sabres pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Nedeljkovic collected a dumped puck and took a shot at the empty net, successfully scoring the NHL's most recent goalie goal.

The goal was Nedeljkovic's first in the NHL, but it was his fourth in professional hockey, having marked the scoresheet in all three levels: NHL, AHL, and ECHL. He is the first goaltender in history to do so.

Nedeljkovic knew as soon as he collected the puck behind the goal line, he had to get rid of it.

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"I didn't know at first if it was on line," he told The Athletic. "It could have been in the corner or gotten two feet off the ground or not even left the ice. I wasn't sure. I got a little bump from one of there guys who spun me around again. I didn't see it until it was at the far blue. At that point, I saw it was on line but I saw it was on the ice so I didn't think it had much to it. But everybody was going nuts.

Nedeljkovic scored his first professional goal in December 2016 while playing for the Florida Everblades in the ECHL. He found the back of the net again in March 2018 with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers.

His most recent goal came last season during a conditioning assignment with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL.

Nedeljkovic also collected an assist on Cody Glass's goal in the second period on Friday, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to record both a goal and an assist in the same game.

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Martin Brodeur, the longtime Devils star and Hall of Famer, holds the record for most goals scored by a goalie, achieving the milestone three times over his 22-year NHL career.

"Growing up, I watched some of the best guys do it. Marty Turco, Marty Brodeur were two guys I watched a lot and learned a lot from in terms of puck handling," Nedeljkovic said. "It's been part of my game as long as I can remember. It started just from conversations with my dad in the car telling me, 'Don't just throw the puck around the boards. Every time you get it, try to make a smart play with it. Put it on guys' tape. Don't just do it if you're going to do it. At least try to do something with it."

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