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In the NHL, a goalie can be credited with a goal when an opponent accidentally puts the puck into their own net and the goalie was the attacking team’s last player to touch it. The goal counts for the goalie in the official scoring record, but no assist is awarded. This is different from a goalie shooting the puck directly into an empty net.
Why the goalie gets the goal credit
NHL Rule 78.4 in the 2019–20 NHL Official Rules addresses a goal scored when a defending player puts the puck into their own goal. It says: “The player of the attacking side who last touched the puck shall be credited with the goal but no assist shall be awarded.”
That means the scorer is determined by the attacking team’s last touch, not simply by who made the pass or whose action immediately sent the puck over the goal line. If the goalie was that last-touch player, the goalie receives the goal credit—even if a teammate’s pass or another action was what physically carried the puck into the net. The teammate who put the puck into their own goal is not credited as the scorer for the attacking team.
The rulebook also says a goal counts as one point in a player’s record and that only one point can be credited to any one player on a goal. For the own-goal situation described in Rule 78.4, no assist is awarded.
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What it means for the scoreboard and player record
The attacking team gets the goal on the scoreboard, and the last-touch player gets a goal in the official player scoring record. If that player was the goalie, the goalie’s statistics show a goal. This credit does not establish that the goalie shot at the net or intended to score.
A recent example: Ilya Sorokin against Nashville
On March 1, 2025, Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin made a save with 20 seconds left in the third period against Nashville. Nashville forward Steven Stamkos later got the puck and sent an errant pass out of the zone and into his own net. Sorokin had last touched the puck for his team, so he was credited with the goal with 12 seconds remaining. NHL.com’s account describes this kind of goal as last-touch credit after an opponent accidentally puts the puck into their own net.
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- Official NFHS Field Hockey Rules Book and Officials Guide
Own-goal credit versus a goalie’s empty-net shot
Both situations put a goal in a goalie’s scoring record, but the route to the credit is different.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches| Scenario | Who puts the puck into the net? | Why the goalie is credited | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent’s own goal | A defending player accidentally puts the puck into their own net. | The goalie was the attacking team’s last player to touch the puck. | No assist is awarded under the cited Rule 78.4. |
| Direct empty-net goal | The goalie shoots the puck into the opposing team’s empty net. | The goalie directly scores by shooting the puck into the net. | The cited own-goal rule does not establish the assist treatment for this separate case. |
For an example of the second route, NHL.com reported that Igor Shesterkin shot into an empty net against Tampa Bay on October 1, 2026. The league distinguishes those direct shots from goals credited because an opponent accidentally put the puck into its own net.
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How many goalie goals are there?
In its October 2, 2026 report, the NHL said 18 goalies had been credited with 21 goals: 19 in the regular season and two in the playoffs. The report counted 12 goalies who scored by shooting into an empty net; eight goals came from an opponent accidentally putting the puck into its own net. These are the league’s figures as published on that date, and the totals can change. Read the NHL’s goalie-goals report.
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The NHL’s October 2, 2026 report said Martin Brodeur was the first—and, as of that report, the only—goalie credited with a game-winning goal. In 2000, Philadelphia’s Daymond Langkow accidentally put the puck into his own net, and Brodeur received the scoring credit; the goal became the game-winner. Because the league’s “only” record claim is date-sensitive, it applies as of that report.
Quick Recap
What to remember
- Under the cited 2019–20 NHL Rule 78.4, the attacking player who last touched the puck gets credit when a defending player puts it into their own net.
- If the goalie was that last-touch player, the goalie is credited with the goal, even when a teammate’s action physically sends the puck into the net.
- No assist is awarded for the own-goal case described in that rule.
- This NHL rule citation is specific to the 2019–20 rulebook; it should not be assumed to establish the wording used by every league or a later NHL edition.
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