Following a record-setting performance for productivity from between the pipes, his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates were left asking one question of goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.
Why didn’t he drop the mitts?
In Friday’s win over the Buffalo Sabres, Nedeljkovic completed his team’s night’s work by firing the puck the length of the ice for an empty-net goal.
“I saw it at the offensive blue line,” Nedeljkovic told Pittsburgh Hockey Now. “I didn’t think it had a chance. There’s no way, (but) then I saw (Penguins defenseman) Erik Karlsson with his hands in the air.”
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Alex Nedeljkovic is the first goalie in NHL history to score a goal and assist in the same night
(via @NHL) pic.twitter.com/rsjdsk28pI
Earlier in the game, Nedeljkovic was drawing a secondary assist on a goal by Cody Glass. That tally would prove to be the game winner in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 verdict over the Sabres.
In doing so, he became the first goalie in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in the same game. Had Nedeljkovic gone ahead and added a fighting major to his tally, he would’ve become the first puckstopper in the NHL’s 100-plus year history to record what’s known as a Gordie Howe hat-trick - a goal, assist and a fight in the same game.
That being the case, Nedeljkovic still wasn’t done making hockey history. The goal was the fourth of his pro career. That was placing Nedeljkovic ahead of Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur (three) for the most goals by a netminder in pro hockey history.
Brodeur scored all three of his goals in the NHL while playing for the New Jersey Devils - two in the regular season and one in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Nedeljkovic, on the other hand, has scored in three different pro leagues.
Last season, on November 17, 2023 while on a rehab stint with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Nedeljkovic would score on the Providence Bruins
Also in the AHL while playing for the Charlotte Checkers, Nedeljkovic March 10, 2018, Nedeljkovic would score a goal against the Hartford Wolf Pack on March 10, 2018.
Nedeljkovic scored for the Florida Everblades at Atlanta in an ECHL game on Dec. 30, 2016.
He’s the only goalie to net a goal in the NHL, AHL and ECHL.