Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne etched his name in NHL history Thursday when he became the 12th goalie in league history to score a goal, and just the seventh ever to score one from a direct shot on net. The goal happened in the final 30 seconds of his team's game against the Blackhawks. With Nashville up 4-2 late, Chicago decided to pull goalie Corey Crawford. Just seconds later, the puck got to Rinne's stick and he launched a shot from behind his own net to the other side of the ice. With the puck gliding over the goal line, the Preds netminder ended the six-year goalie scoring dry spell.
For the first time since 2013... WE HAVE A GOALIE GOAL.
— NHL (@NHL) January 10, 2020
Bless you, Pekka Rinne. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/teY98yCmB9
There's plenty to love about this clip. First is the infectious joy that Rinne experiences alongside his teammates for his accomplishment. The broadcast's mics are able to pick up just how happy everyone is for the 37-year-old.
Second, one of the few people who Rinne joins on the list of goalie-scorers, former Nashville goalie Chris Mason, was actually on the call of this highlight. While impressive that the Predators became the first franchise to have two different goalies score a goal, Mason's was the result of being given credit for an own goal in 2006, while Rinne's was clearly more deliberate.
Given how exciting this all was, hopefully, it won't be another six years before hockey fans have to wait for another one of these.