Boston’s Linus Ullmark becomes the 13th goalie in NHL history & first Bruins goaltender to score

Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark decided the time was right to become the franchise’s first goalie to score in a game.

Late in a 2-1 contest against the Vancouver Canucks – the Canucks had an empty net in order to have an extra skater on the ice to try and score a goal.

After a deflection off skater Brock Boeser, Ullmark corralled the puck and sent a wrist shot over the heads of three skaters and down the ice – with the puck sliding into the net.

He was mobbed by his teammates on the ice and went down the bench for a handshake line – content with having scored the last goal in a 3-1 win.

Later, backup netminder Jeremy Swayman came on the ice for their now-traditional ‘goalie hug’, but with more enthusiasm this time.

Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) became the first goalie since 2020 to score

Ullmark shot the puck into an empty net then celebrated in a handshake line with teammates

Backup goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) came out for a special edition of their ‘goalie hug’ tradition

Linus Ullmark officially became the first Bruins goaltender to score in a game with this goal

Ullmark becomes the first goaltender in Boston Bruins history to have scored a goal in a game and the 13th goalie in league history to score.

He’s the first goalie to score in a game since Nashville’s Pekka Rinne did so against the Chicago Blackhawks on January 9, 2020.

Vancouver now owns two ignominious records for goalie goals. They become the third franchise (second team) to have two goalie goals scored on them – joining the New Jersey Devils and the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes.

The Canucks also join the Whalers/Hurricanes as the only franchises to have two goalie goals scored on them on home ice.

It should be noted that Hartford and Carolina’s goalie goals were scored in separate cities and therefore separate buildings. 

Rogers Arena – the home of the Canucks – is the first building in the NHL to have two goalie goals scored against the home team. The first came back in 2002 when San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov scored.

The only other arena to have multiple goalie goals scored in it is the now-vacant Meadowlands Arena (formerly known as Continental Airlines Arena) in New Jersey – where Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur scored two goals on home ice.