List of goaltenders who have scored a goal in an NHL game There have been nine goaltenders who have scored a goal in a National Hockey League ( NHL ) game . The first goaltender to score a goal by intentionally shooting the puck into the opponent ' s net was the Philadelphia Flyers ' Ron Hextall , who , on December 8 , 1987 , scored in an empty net after Boston pulled their goaltender , Rejean Lemelin , for a sixth attacker late in the third period . Goaltenders can also be given credit for a goal when they are the last person to touch the puck before an opponent inadvertently puts the puck into their own net . This was the case for the most recent instance of goaltender scoring , when Chris Mason was credited with a goal in 2006 . The most recent goaltender to have scored a goal by deliberately shooting the puck into his opponents ' net was Evgeni Nabokov , in 2002 . Scoring a goal into the opposing team ' s net is challenging for goaltender s . A fair chance to score exists only when the six - foot - wide net on the other side of the rink is empty , due to the goaltender being pulled for an extra attacker . It is assumed that the opposing goaltender , if in net , does not commit a blunder . All NHL goaltenders who have scored a goal by shooting the puck have done so with an empty net ; the ones that have been credited with a goal was as a result of a blunder by the opposing team who had been playing with the extra attacker . When shooting the puck , goaltenders have to shoot from the other end of the rink , since that is where an opportunity to shoot the puck will present itself . Also , the goaltender must shoot the puck with a trajectory and speed so the opposing team cannot stop the puck . Billy Smith , in the 1979 – 80 season , was the first goaltender to be credited with a goal ; he was the last player to touch the puck before an opposing player put the puck into his own empty net . However , the participation of goaltenders in offense began long before that goal . In the early days of ice hockey , Hall of Fame goaltender Paddy Moran was beaten once by the opposing team ' s goaltender , though not in the NHL . The " Montreal Star " reported that poor officiating resulted in only the goaltenders left on the ice ; Fred Brophy , the opposing goaltender , and Moran both exchanged scoring attempts , before Brophy beat Moran , while the latter and most of the spectators " convulsed in laughter " . The first goaltender credited with an assist in the NHL was Georges Vezina in the 1917 – 18 season , after a puck rebounded off his leg pad to a teammate who skated the length of the ice to score . In the 1935 – 36 season , Tiny Thompson became the first goaltender to gain an assist after making an intentional pass . During the Second World War , while playing for the All - Star Canadian Army team , NHL goaltender Chuck Rayner carried the puck down the ice and beat the opposing goaltender ; in the NHL , he made numerous unsuccessful attempts to duplicate this feat . In the 1976 – 77 season , Los Angeles Kings goaltenders Rogatien Vachon briefly became the first goaltender to be credited with a goal when the opposing New York Islanders scored on themselves during a delayed penalty ; however , after video review , the goal was given to Vic Venasky as it was determined that he was the last Kings player to touch the puck before it went in the net . Of the eleven goals scored by NHL goaltenders , six were shot into the opposing team ' s net by the goaltender . There have been two goaltenders that have scored and earned a shutout in the same game . Damian Rhodes , playing for the Ottawa Senators , was credited with a goal in a 6 – 0 win over the New Jersey Devils on January 2 , 1999 , and Jose Theodore , playing for the Montreal Canadiens , shot the puck into the New York Islanders ' empty net in a 3 – 0 victory on January 2 , 2001 . In addition to being the first goaltender to be credited with a goal , Billy Smith was the only goaltender to have lost the game in which he was credited with or had scored a goal . Though both Ron Hextall and Martin Brodeur have scored twice , Hextall is the only goaltender to score twice by directly shooting the puck into the opponent ' s net . Martin Brodeur ' s second goal was an own goal by the other team , where Brodeur received credit for touching the puck last . Interestingly , it is the only game - winning goal scored by a goaltender . Hextall and Brodeur both scored in a playoff game as well as a regular season game . Ron Hextall ' s second goal is the only goal scored by a goaltender while his team was short handed , and Evgeni Nabokov ' s goal is the only one that was scored on a power play .