Who was the first goaltender credited with scoring a goal in an NHL game?

Billy Smith was the first goaltender credited with scoring a goal in an NHL game.

The unusual goal occurred on November 28, 1979, when Smith’s New York Islanders faced the Colorado Rockies. During a delayed penalty, Smith made a save, making him the last Islanders player to touch the puck. Colorado defenseman Rob Ramage then accidentally sent the puck into his own team’s empty net.

Under the scoring rules, the goal was credited to the last opposing player to touch the puck, so Smith received the historic goal even though he did not shoot it into the net. The Islanders still lost the game 7–4 in Denver. Smith had entered in relief of Glenn Resch during the contest.

Ron Hextall is a frequent wrong answer because he became the first NHL goaltender to deliberately shoot the puck into an opponent’s net, doing so for Philadelphia in 1987. Martin Brodeur later became the most prolific scoring goaltender in NHL history.