Who was the first goaltender to score a goal in the NHL playoffs?

The first goaltender to score a goal in the NHL playoffs was Ron Hextall.

Hextall achieved the milestone as a Philadelphia Flyers goaltender on April 11, 1989, during a first-round playoff game against the Washington Capitals. He shot the puck into Washington’s empty net in an 8–5 Philadelphia victory. The goal made him the first NHL goaltender to score during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This achievement came after Hextall had already made regular-season history. On December 8, 1987, he became the first goaltender to shoot the puck directly into the opposing net in an NHL game. Billy Smith had been credited with a goal in 1979, but that puck entered the net after an opposing player was the last player to touch it; Smith did not shoot it.

Hextall later scored another playoff goal in 1989, becoming the first goaltender to score in both the regular season and playoffs. He remains one of hockey’s most influential puck-handling goalies.