December 8, 1987: The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Scoring for the Flyers are Brian Propp, on a power play at 6:58 of the 1st period; Peter Zezel, on a power play at 5:38 of the 3rd period; Zezel again, on another power play, at 14:40 of the 3rd; Propp again, at even strength, at 17:33 of the 3rd; and Ron Hextall, at even strength, at 18:48 of the 3rd.
Hextall was the Flyers' goaltender. It was the 1st time an NHL goaltender had ever shot the puck and scored.
Born in 1964 in Brandon, Manitoba, he was the son of New York Rangers Hall-of-Famer Bryan Hextall, the son of former Pittsburgh Penguins star Bryan Hextall Jr., and the nephew of former Minnesota North Stars player Dennis Hextall. Ron made his debut for the Flyers in the 1986-87, following the death of All-Star goalie Pelle Lindbergh in a drunken car crash the preceding season.
He immediately became one of the best goalies in the game, helping the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Although they fell in 7 games to the Edmonton Oilers, Hextall made some amazing stops, especially in Game 6. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Of the 5 players from losing teams to receive it, 4 have been goalies, including Hextall. He was also awarded the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie. Oddly, he did not receive the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year: That went to Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings.
Through that season, only one NHL goaltender had ever been credited with a goal. On November 28, 1979, Billy Smith of the New York Islanders was credited with a goal when Rob Ramage of the Colorado Rockies (the team that became the New Jersey Devils 3 years later) tried to pass the puck back, forgetting that his head coach, the infamous Don Cherry, had pulled goalie Bill McKenzie for an extra attacker, and the puck went into his own net.
Under the rules of soccer, the goal would have been "credited" to Ramage as an "own goal"; under the rules of ice hockey, the goal was credited to the last player on the other team to have touched the puck, and that was Smith. Under these same circumstances -- and, barring a true goalkeeping "howler," it can only happen when the goalie is pulled for an extra attacker -- these goalies have been credited with goals that were really own goals:
* Damian Rhodes of the Ottawa Senators, January 2, 1999, when the Devils pulled Martin Brodeur, and Lyle Odelein scored an own goal.
* Martin Brodeur himself, February 15, 2000, when the Flyers pulled Brian Boucher, and Daymond Langkow scored an own goal.
* Mika Noronen of the Buffalo Sabres, February 14, 2004, when the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled Trevor Kidd, and Robert Reichel scored an own goal.
* Chris Mason of the Nashville Predators, April 15, 2006, when the Phoenix Coyotes pulled David LeNeveu, and Geoff Sanderson scored an own goal.
* Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes, December 26, 2011, when the Devils pulled Johan Hedberg, who was filling in for Brodeur, and Ilya Kovalchuk scored an own goal.
* And Brodeur again, March 21, 2013, when the Hurricanes pulled Dan Ellis, and Jordan Staal scored an own goal.
But on December 8, 1987, with the Flyers leading the Bruins late, and Bruins coach (and former player) Terry O'Reilly having pulled Reggie Lemelin (himself a former player in the Flyers' organization, although he didn't reach the NHL with them), despite already being down by 2 goals, Hextall made a save, and flung the puck the length of the ice. It didn't go in, but one of the Flyer broadcasters said, "He could score a goal." A few seconds later, he got another chance to do so, and converted it, becoming the 1st NHL goalie to do so legitimately.
He also became the 2nd, the 1st to do it twice, and the 1st to do it in the Playoffs. It was April 11, 1989, in the 1st round, against the Washington Capitals. Bryan Murray pulled Pete Peeters (the goalie when the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1980), and, again, Hextall flung the puck the length of the ice, and it went in. The Flyers won the series, and advanced to the Prince of Wales Conference Finals, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens.
Other goalies to do it:
* Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings, March 6, 1996, when the Hartford Whalers pulled Sean Burke.
* Martin Brodeur, April 17, 1997, when the Montreal Canadiens, his hometown team, pulled Jocelyn Thibault at the end of a Playoff game in Montreal. The Devils won the series, before losing to their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, in the next round. So Brodeur is the all-time leader in goals by a goalie, with 3, 1 of them as close to legit as a goalie can get. Hextall is the only other man with 2.
* Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens, January 2, 2001, when the New York Islanders pulled John Vanbiesbrouck.
* Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks, March 10, 2002, when the Vancouver Canucks pulled Peter Skudra.
* Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes, October 19, 2013, when the Red Wings pulled Jimmy Howard. And...
* Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, January 9, 2020, when the Chicago Blackhawks pulled Corey Crawford.
Total: 12 goalies, 7 actually doing it themselves.
Philadelphia is the home of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, but Hextall's hockey story has been really rocky. In spite of his achievements, his relationship with the Flyers has been back-and-forth. In 1992, he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques, along with prospect Peter Forsberg, as part of the deal to get the rights to superstar-in-waiting Eric Lindros. Forsberg ended up having the kind of career that Lindros should have had.
The Flyers brought Hextall back, and he and Lindros combined to lead the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1995. But at the end of Game 5, with the series tied, Claude Lemieux made a wobbly 65-foot shot that most goalies should have stopped, but Hextall never saw, and the Devils went on to win their 1st Stanley Cup.
In 1997, Hextall and Garth Snow became a goaltending tandem, and they reached the Stanley Cup Finals. But the Red Wings won the 1st 2 games in Philadelphia, with Snow started it Game 2 instead of Hextall, and the Wings completed the sweep in Detroit, with Hextall back in the net. A Wings fan held up a sign: "HEY HEXTALL YOU AND SNOW GET PULLED MORE THAN A U-HAUL!"
Hextall retired after the 1998-99 season, and became a scout for the Flyers. In 2006, he joined the Kings as assistant general manager, and in 2012, in that role, finally received his 1st Stanley Cup ring. Since 2014, he has been the Flyers' GM.
Another grandchild of Bryan Hextall Sr., a niece of Bryan Jr. and Dennis, and a 1st cousin of Ron, Leah Hextall has been a hockey broadcaster for several networks. And Ron's son, Brett Hextall, played a few years of minor-league hockey, but didn't make the majors.
There have been a few 3-generation NHL families, but, as yet, no 4-generation NHL families. Almost qualifying is the Morenz-Geffrion family: Howie Morenz's daughter married Bernie Geoffrion, and their son and grandson played in the NHL. But "Boom-Boom" was the son-in-law, not the son, of "The Statford Sreak," so that doesn't count.
*
December 8, 1987 was a Tuesday. These other NHL games were played that day:
* The New York Islanders lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Hartford Whalers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 5-4 at the Colisée de Québec.
* The Calgary Flames beat the Washington Capitals, 5-4 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* And the Minnesota North Stars beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. These NBA games were played that day:
* The New York Knicks beat the Washington Bullets, 116-92 at Madison Square Garden.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-81 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 127-117 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 103-101 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls, 109-96 at the Chicago Stadium. In spite of the defeat, Michael Jordan led all scorers on the night with 33 points.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings, 106-97 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 105-100 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 90-79 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-96 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
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