Ilya Sorokin battled hard against the Nashville Predators in the New York Islanders‘ victory, where he seized the opportunity to score one of those rare occurrences in the league, a goalie goal that few have had the chance to witness.
The Islanders won and deserved the victory against the Predators after closing February with a win over the Bruins, which lifted the team’s spirits by ending a 4-game losing streak that included losses against the Jets, Wild, Stars, and Rangers.
Sorokin knows the moment was special for him, but it will be remembered as something unique, as in the history of the Islanders, only two goalies have scored that type of goal. The first was scored by Billy Smith in the 1979-80 season, and making him the first goalie in the NHL to achieve it.
In the video, it is clearly seen how the Predators’ 17-year veteran Steven Stamkos sends the puck into his own empty net, and the goal is credited to Sorokin. This is not the first time that own goals have been credited to goalies; it happened years ago with Martin Brodeur twice and also with Cam Ward, just to mention a few cases.
Three Goalie Goals in the 2024-25 Season
Surprisingly, Sorokin is not the only goalie who has scored this season. With him, there are now three of those ‘very rare’ goals. The other two were Filip Gustavsson (Wild) on October 15 against St. Louis and Alex Nedeljkovic (Penguins) on January 17 against Buffalo. It’s worth noting that the two previously mentioned goalies scored their goals directly (shot on goal).
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How Many Goalies Have Scored in the NHL?
Billy Smith became the first goalie to score a goal during the 1979-80 season, and with Ilya Sorokin’s recent goal against Nashville, the total now stands at 17 goalies in NHL history.
Martin Brodeur holds the record with three career goals (1997 playoffs, 1999-2000, and 2012-13). Meanwhile, Ron Hextall is the only other goalie to score multiple times, netting two—once during the 1987-88 season (the league’s second-ever goalie goal) and again in the 1989 playoffs. Hextall also remains the only goalie to score in back-to-back seasons.
