Pekka Rinne became just the 12th goalie to score a goal in NHL history, hitting an empty-netter with 22 seconds remaining to cap the Nashville Predators' 5-2 victory over the host Blackhawks in Chicago on Thursday night.
"I obviously understand that it might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing," a smiling Rinne said, "so I really enjoyed it. It was an awesome feeling seeing that puck go in."
Nashville had a 4-2 lead when Rinne fired the puck into the air from behind his own net. It landed inside Chicago's blue line and slid into the goal before Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach could chase it down.
Rinne, 37, said he realized it went in when he saw teammate Nick Bonino celebrating.
"It was pretty cool," said Rinne, who had 29 saves and recorded his 14th career point with the goal. "I just threw my hands up in the air and tried to act as cool as I can."
Rinne is the first goalie to score a goal since Mike Smith did it for Phoenix against Detroit on Oct. 19, 2013. Rinne joins Chris Mason as goaltenders to score for the Predators.
Thursday marked the 15th time, including the playoffs, that a goaltender has had a goal. Martin Brodeur did it three times, and Ron Hextall scored on two occasions.
Rinne's goal also had a sports betting impact; the over/under for the game was 6.5 at Caesars Sportsbook.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
