NHL

Martin Brodeur Returns From Injury, Scores What Could Be The Weirdest Goal Ever (Video)

Unlike every other sport, hockey gives you the option to sub on the fly. This is predominantly done for line changes, but occasionally, coaches will opt to exchange their goaltender for an extra offensive player. What happened in New Jersey Thursday was a function of such a substitution, an errant pass, and the NHL’s “own goal” rule. During a Devil’s power play, they were whistled for a delayed penalty. However, because play doesn’t stop until the offending team touches the puck, the Carolina Hurricanes exchanged goaltender Dan Ellis for an extra attacker, assuming that the Devils couldn’t score without touching the puck. Very reasonable grounds for pulling the goalie, right? How can you score without touching the puck? It’s like a riddle. The answer?

An errant pass by Jordan Staal careens off the boards, travels the length of the ice, and into an open net. Or past a REALLY bad goalie.

Because Brodeur was the last Devils player to touch the puck (on a save) he gets credited with the goal. It’s the third of his illustrious career, which now gives him the record for most career goals for a goaltender. What’s more, it was his first game back from injury, and the first goal of the game. Way to make a triumphant return, Marty. Here’s the updated list of “Goal Scoring Goalies”:

Photo Via WikipediaH/T Puck Daddy