ESPN News Services
Jan 17, 2025, 10:40 PM ET
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- 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 -- nor any other goalie -- had 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," he 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 also 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. Nedeljkovic gathered the puck behind his own net, fired 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. Minnesota's Filip Gustavsson was the last to do it Oct. 15 against St. Louis.
Nedeljkovic is 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. The only other franchise in NHL history to feature multiple netminders with a goal is Nashville (Pekka Rinne on Jan. 9, 2020, and Chris Mason on April 15, 2006).
Nedeljkovic also became just the fourth goaltender in Penguins history to record two points in a game, joining Tom Barrasso, Wendell Young and Michel Dion, according to ESPN Research.
"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."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
