BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Alex Nedeljkovic remembers admiring the way Marty Turco and Martin Brodeur handled the puck during his childhood.
On Friday night, he accomplished something neither of them — or any other goalie — had ever done.
Nedeljkovic became the first goalie in NHL history to have a goal and an assist in a game during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing the puck,” Nedeljkovic said. “Growing up, I watched some of the best guys do it, like Marty Turco, Marty Brodeur were two guys that I watched a lot and really learned a lot from in terms of puck handling. It’s been part of my game as long as I can remember.
“Started from just conversations with my dad in the car telling me, like, ‘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.’ It’s really exciting right now.”
Nedeljkovic, who halso had 40 saves, had a secondary assist on Glass’ goal with 8:17 left in the second period that gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead. His goal came with 2:42 to play after the Sabres pulled goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for an extra skater. He gathered the puck behind his own net and fired away from behind the goal line and buried the shot from about 180 feet away into the open goal to cap the scoring.
“I’m out there and I see a relatively soft rim,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. “I’m like, ‘He’s getting it. We’re up by two. I know he’s probably shooting it.’ So, I kind of just stood there and watched the rest of however many seconds it was. You see him take off for the bench and everyone just mauled him. It was cool.”
Nedeljkovic also made history by being the first goalie to score a goal in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL.
The goal was the 19th scored by a goalie in NHL history and Nedeljkovic became the 16th goalie to accomplish the feat. He’s the second Penguins goalie to score after Tristan Jarry — who was sent to the AHL on Thursday — was the first to do it Nov. 30, 2023.
“It was great,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “The guys were joking with him. They said all he was missing was a fight for the Gordie Howe hat trick.”