A combination of circumstance and savvy led Alex Nedeljkovic to become the 19th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal Jan. 17.
The conditions that night against Sabres included a late-game two-goal lead for the Penguins, which prompted Buffalo to pull its goalie, with Nedeljkovic soon taking advantage to secure one of the more rare accomplishments in hockey and professional sports.
For comparison, there have been five more perfect games in MLB (24) than netminders who have managed to score a goal.
Nedeljkovic scoring vs. Buffalo (he also owns the distinction of having scored minor-league goals coming up through the ECHL and AHL) shined a light on his puck handling abilities.
But the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender also regularly boosts his club in less obvious ways when he comes into contact with the puck.
“He helps us with his puck possession game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He plays the puck really well. I think it helps us with our breakouts, makes our defensemen’s job a lot easier going back for pucks and when he keeps the game simple with his puck play and when he keeps his exchanges with our defensemen clean, I think it really helps us get out of our end.
“We spend less time in our end because of it. I think that’s a subtlety of his game that might fly under the radar.”
Nedeljkovic, playing in his fifth full NHL campaign and second with the Penguins, seems to have long had a reputation among his peers for puck handling chops.
Teammates in Pittsburgh certainly have taken notice of Nedeljkovic’s smooth operating behind the net when opposing teams dump the puck in deep.
When Nedeljkovic is able to swiftly emerge from the net and play the puck — something that occurs countless times in a given game — it makes a difference.
“It really messes up (teams’) forechecks,” defenseman Ryan Graves said. “I’ve played with goalies that don’t play it as well or as often and it’s definitely much tougher. He’s good with it. I remember that when he was in Detroit, that he was good with (the puck). It’s very nice as a defenseman.
“You might take it for granted a little bit, but when the goalie doesn’t do that, it makes your life a lot harder as a defenseman. Going back for pucks is tough. It’s tough to make clean plays when you’re facing the boards.”
For Nedeljkovic, who grew up idolizing puck-savvy goalies such as Martin Brodeur, being good with the puck is part of the game and his duty as a netminder.
“I think you have to be able to do it in some capacity in today’s game,” Nedeljkovic said. “The more efficient you can be at it, the simpler you can make the game for your defensemen and your forwards, the less time we spend in our own end. I think you see it.
“There’s games where I’m handling the puck a lot, I’m clean with it, I’m efficient, I’m putting it on our defensemen’s tape and making crisp, hard passes and our reads are quick and decisive — we get out of the zone a lot easier. We spend a lot less time in our own end.”
Misplaying pucks can often lead to catastrophe.
For the Penguins, a glaring example of that was Game 5 of the 2021 East Division first-round playoff series vs. the Islanders, when a botched attempt to clear a puck by Tristan Jarry led to New York scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime.
The Islanders went on to win the series 4-2 in what is Pittsburgh’s most recent postseason appearance.
More recently, a regrettable play last season vs. the Dallas Stars is burned into Nedeljkovic’s memory.
During the third period of an eventual 4-2 win by the Stars on Oct. 24, 2023, Dallas’ Jason Robertson looked to have a beat on a loose puck that had drifted in past the offensive blue line and between the faceoff circles.
In net was Nedeljkovic, who opted to leave the cage and attempt to push away the puck as opposed to granting Robertson a breakaway opportunity.
Nedeljkovic’s diving move backfired, as he and Robertson wiped out, allowing Thomas Hartley to collect the puck and score an easy goal for the Stars.
“If I’d just let it go and maybe played the guy on the mini breakaway, I think I give myself a much better chance of making that save than sliding for a puck, poking it into an area and now I’m 20-30 feet away from the net,” Nedeljkovic recalled.
Whenever any goalie leaves the net to play a puck, there is some risk involved.
At this stage of his career, Nedeljkovic resolves to trust his own judgment.
When the time comes to handle a puck, whatever the circumstance may be, Nedeljkovic just tries to be smart about it and decisive.
“I’ve learned that the best thing to do is just go and do it,” Nedeljkovic said. “If you hesitate for a split second, you’re going to be behind. You’re better off making your first read and just going with it. That’s not to say that now, every time you see a 50-50 puck, you’re always going for it. There is a matter of, at the end of the day, we have to play our position.”
