The Flyers lead the Boston Bruins 4-2 at the Spectrum when goalie
Rejean Lemelin
is pulled for an extra skater. Hextall, already known for his stickhandling skills, grabs a loose puck to the left of his net and lifts a shot that goes past the Boston defense and slides into the
empty net at 18:48 of the third period
.
Though
Billy Smith
of the New York Islanders is the first NHL goalie to be credited with scoring a goal when the Colorado Rockies backpass the puck into their own net during a delayed penalty on Nov. 28, 1979, Hextall is the first to score by shooting the puck into the net. For good measure, he does it again on
April 11, 1989
, in a playoff game against the Washington Capitals.
MORE MOMENTS
1931:The
Bruins lose 3-2
to the New York Americans at Boston Garden, ending their 24-game unbeaten streak (19-0, five ties) at home. It's their first loss at the Garden since Nov. 25, 1930, when the Chicago Blackhawks
win 4-3 in overtime
.
1974:
Norm Ullman
becomes the fourth player in NHL history to reach 1,200 points when he scores a goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a
4-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks
at Chicago Stadium. The goal comes against another future Hockey Hall of Famer,
Tony Esposito
.
1979: On his 40th birthday,
Red Berenson
is named coach of the St. Louis Blues, replacing Barclay Plager. The hiring comes a year after Berenson retires as a player with the Blues, with whom he scores 412 points (172 goals, 240 assists) in 519 games.
1993:
Jari Kurri
becomes the highest-scoring European player in NHL history, passing
Peter Stastny
, when he has a goal and two assists in the Los Angeles Kings'
6-5 loss
to the visiting Florida Panthers. Kurri's 1,223rd point is one more than Stastny; he finishes his NHL career with 1,398.