<P> Eleven goaltenders have scored a total of fourteen goals in National Hockey League (NHL) games . A goalkeeper can score by either shooting the puck into the net, or being awarded the goal as the last player on his team to touch the puck when an opponent scored an own goal . A goal scored by shooting the puck is particularly challenging as the goaltender has to aim for a six - foot - wide net that is close to 180 feet away, while avoiding opposing defencemen; in the case of own goals, the combined circumstance of the own goal itself in addition to the goaltender being the last player to touch the puck makes it a very rare occurrence . Of the fourteen goals, seven were scored by shooting the puck and seven were the result of own goals . </P> <P> Goaltenders have participated in the offence, albeit in a limited way, since the earliest days of the sport . Before the creation of the NHL in 1917, there were some instances recorded of goaltenders rushing down the ice to participate in the play, occasionally scoring a goal . This practice has since been outlawed (goalies are not allowed to cross the centre red line to play the puck) after the Toronto Maple Leafs' Gary Smith was injured on such a rush in the 1966--67 NHL season . During the history of the league, there had been some near - misses by goaltenders, including attempts by Chuck Rayner by aiming at the empty net, or joining the attack . In 1977, Rogatien Vachon briefly became the first goaltender to score a goal after being credited following an own goal by the opponent, before it was given instead to a teammate by later video review . </P> <P> Billy Smith of the New York Islanders became the first goaltender to score an NHL goal on November 28, 1979, when he was given credit following an own goal . Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the second goalkeeper to score, and the first to score by taking a shot . Martin Brodeur has scored the most NHL goals by a goaltender, with two in the regular season and one in the playoffs . The most recent goal credited to a goaltender was awarded to Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes on October 19, 2013, scored via a shot on goal . </P> <P> Under modern rules, the only realistic chance for the goaltender to score exists when the opposing goaltender is pulled for an extra attacker, leaving the six - foot - wide net at the other end of the rink empty . It is assumed that the opposing goaltender, if in net, would not commit a blunder . Furthermore, the goaltender is prohibited from travelling to the other side of rink; specifically, he is not allowed to cross the centre red line in order to participate in a play, where the position of the puck is prescribed as the "determining factor" by Rule 27 of the Official NHL Rule Book . The result is that the goaltender cannot participate in play in the opponent's zone, and must take a shot from his side of the rink . Coaches generally discourage any player from shooting at an empty net from their own side of the red line because if the shot goes wide, it results in an icing infraction . This brings the face off back in the defensive zone and prohibits the offending team from making any substitutions . In practice, a shot from the goaltender is taken from the side of his net, because further travel risks turning the puck over . Due to the distance between the two nets, the puck has to be shot with a trajectory and speed that prevents the opposing team from stopping it while it travels . All NHL goaltenders who have scored a goal by shooting the puck have done so with an empty net; the goals credited to goaltenders that did not shoot the puck were all the result of own goals by the opposing team who had their crease vacated . </P>

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