- Ron Hextall, the first NHL goalie to shoot and score, weighed in on Igor Shesterkin’s goalie goal
- The Flyers legend says the Rangers bench reaction took him right back to 1987
- Read below for Hextall’s full comments and video of all three goals
Ron Hextall loved what he saw from the Rangers bench Thursday night.
The first goalie to ever shoot a puck into the net for a goal talked to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman on Friday about Igor Shesterkin’s empty-netter against the Lightning. He was asked what it’s like watching another goalie join the club.
“I’m happy for guys when they do it,” Hextall said. “The Rangers’ reaction last night was pretty cool for Shesterkin, so it’s a neat thing. It brings a little bit of highlights for SportsCenter and whatnot, so it’s kind of a neat thing for sure.”
Shesterkin flipped a rolling puck off the left wall nearly the length of the ice with 2:34 left, sealing a 5-1 home-opener win. That made him the 12th goalie to shoot and score in an NHL game, and the first in Rangers history.
Watch Shesterkin’s goalie goal:
What stuck with Hextall was the bench. A handful of Rangers jumped up to mob their goalie, and it reminded him of Dec. 8, 1987, when he beat the Bruins’ empty net in Philadelphia.
He explained how his Flyers teammates reacted that night.
“It was like everybody came off the bench,” Hextall said. “I specifically remember ‘Tocc’ (Rick Tocchet) and I think it was Scotty Mellanby yelling and screaming. I knew it was something, but I didn’t think it was that big a deal. They might have been more excited than I was.”
The two plays even looked alike. Hextall played a Bruins dump-in to his left, settled it and fired it down the ice to finish a 5-2 win.
Take a look at Hextall getting honored for the goal two nights later:
Hextall did it again in the playoffs. On April 11, 1989, Hextall scored into an empty net to cap an 8-5 win in Washington in Game 5 of the Patrick Division Semifinals. He’s still the only goalie to shoot and score in both the regular season and the postseason.
See the 1989 playoff goal:
Over his years running the Flyers and Penguins, Hextall watched plenty of Shesterkin. He was asked what he thinks of the Rangers netminder.
“He’s got the swagger, he’s got the ability,” Hextall said. “He’s not the biggest guy, and some teams, guys like that, they don’t want to draft them, right? ‘Oh, he’s too small,’ which I don’t necessarily agree with.”
Shesterkin’s goal makes 21 goalie goals by 18 different netminders in NHL history, 19 in the regular season and two in the playoffs. Hextall doesn’t expect a long wait for the next one, since young goalies now learn to move the puck from day one.
“Kids are so much more well-schooled now than they were in our day, in terms of their positioning, the butterfly, everything,” he said. “Including handling the puck.”
