A game on Thursday night between the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild featured one of the stranger goals to ever be scored in the NHL.
Just past the midway point of the first period, the Wild redirected a puck into the Red Wings zone which appeared to be going wide of the net. Instead of settling the puck down and then looking to move it, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic chose to take a whack at it as it was bouncing, and the result was a very ugly one.
Of course, absurd goals like this are always worth a second look.
The goal was credited to Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek, who now has 18 on the season. For Nedeljkovic, it is perhaps rock bottom in what has been an overall tough first season in Detroit. Aside from a great stretch of play through the month of November, he has had his fair share of struggles in 2021-22 and headed into Thursday’s contest with a disappointing 3.19 GAA along with a .901 save percentage.
Many were shocked this offseason when Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman was able to acquire Nedeljkovic for just Jonathan Bernier and a third-round pick. It seemed like an extremely low price given the fact that the 26-year-old netminder was a Calder Trophy finalist with the Hurricanes last season after recording a 1.90 GAA along with a .932 SV% in 23 games.
Given his struggles this season, it is safe to say the Hurricanes are not regretting their decision to instead go with a tandem of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, who have been one of the best, if not the best duo in the entire NHL this season. As for Nedeljkovic, it is possible that he is able to get back on track and put together a much better 2022-23 campaign, but as of now it appears Hurricanes management may have been wise to move on from him.
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