Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
As the saying goes, they don’t ask you how, they ask you how many.
For every Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon highlight-reel goal that has taken over social media and network feeds this NHL season, there will always be a few that will make everyone wonder how that beat a goaltender.
The most egregious one yet has to be Leon Draisaitl’s goal that got past Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in Minnesota’s 5-3 win over the Oilers on Nov. 21. Not only did this puck somehow get past Fleury, but it also found its way past multiple skaters before skipping into the Wild net.
While Draisaitl’s slow-moving dump-in attempt that turned into a goal is one of the oddest, it’s not the only one in 2024-25 after the first quarter of this season. Let’s take a look at three other bizarre goals:
Charlie Lindgren’s Goalie Goal… Into His Net
Many goaltenders dream about scoring a goal in a game, but not like Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren did against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. His attempt to bounce the puck off the back wall resulted in an own goal.
Charlie Lindgren on this play:
“It was probably the worst mistake I ever made in my whole life on ice… I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Credits the Capitals for rallying around him to pull out the big win in Tampa. #ALLCAPS
— Sammi Silber 🏒 (@sammisilber) November 28, 2024
Not only did this goal give the Lightning the lead, but it also gave Brayden Point a hat trick as the last Tampa Bay player to touch the puck. The team’s social media accounts posted accordingly to what technically was a big night for Point.
Fortunately for Lindgren, his mistake wouldn’t be the difference-maker. The Capitals escaped Tampa with the win, but it is a goal that will live on social media for the next few decades.
Zach Hyman Gets The Rogers Place Bounce
Leon Draisaitl wasn’t the only Oiler to benefit from a funny bounce at home.
Zach Hyman took advantage of a dump-in fooling Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill. Maybe the funniest part of the sequence had to be Hyman speeding his way to the net while Hill was still looking in the other direction, wondering where the puck went.
The Knucklepuck Introduced Sharks Fans To Timothy Liljegren
Good things happen when you put pucks toward the net, and that was the case for the newest member of the San Jose Sharks, defenseman Timothy Liljegren.
His wrist shot hit a stick and floated in over the top of Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin with what can be best described as hockey’s version of an offspeed pitch.
Talk about a weird bounce 🫨
Timothy Liljegren fires one from the point and it ramps over EVERYBODY in front to give the Sharks an early lead— Shesterkin had no idea where it was pic.twitter.com/P1vIqUUosC
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 15, 2024
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