BUFFALO -- Alex Nedeljkovic had a goal and an assist and made 40 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 at Key Bank Center Friday. Sure, the details are important, as are the crucial two points the Penguins earned in the win.
In the Penguins' 5-2 win in Buffalo, Nedeljkovic became the first goalie in NHL history to notch a goal and an assist in a single game.
Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made history by becoming the first netminder to record a goal and an assist in an NHL game.
With the Penguins leading the Sabres 4-2 and Buffalo's goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at the bench, the Sabres would put the puck into the corner and the puck would come to Nedeljkovic. With that goal, Nedeljkovic would become just the second goalie in the Penguins' history to score a goal.
Alex Nedeljkovic remembers admiring the way Marty Turco and Martin Brodeur handled the puck during his childhood. On Friday night, he accomplished something neither of them — or any other goalie — had ever done.
During the final minutes of the Penguins’ game against the Sabres on Friday, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic sniped a goal from the other side of the ice, becoming the first goalie in history to record a goal and an assist in the same NHL game. Upon scoring the goal, Nedeljkovic leaped into the Penguins’ bench, where he was mobbed by his teammates.
Pittsburgh's game at Washington on Saturday night will be the 71st regular-season meeting of the team's superstar captains, the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin.
The Penguins need their very best against the first-place Washington Capitals (30-10-5) at Capital One Arena on Saturday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (19-20-8) remain below .500 after leaving a smoldering crater where a five-game homestand was supposed to be. However, the Penguins clicked with A-level goaltending Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres and got back on the winning track.
You have to be kind of special to steal the spotlight in a moment where your teammate makes National Hockey League history in multiple different ways, and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is definitely special.