50 Worst Goals in NHL History
Matthew FairburnCorrespondent INovember 9, 201150 Worst Goals in NHL History
The NHL is home to some of the world's finest goaltenders. However, even the best have embarassing moments.
Whether it was a full ice shot or a mishandling of the puck or a weird angle shot, plenty of talented netminders have let some silly goals slip by them.
Let's take a look at the 50 worst goals in NHL history.
Jaroslav Halak
Jaroslav Halak has had a tough time keeping the opposition from scoring since heading to St. Louis. He certainly doesn't make things any easier on himself when he scores on himself.
Vesa Toskala
Vesa Toskala has made a name for himself with mental lapses like this one.
Oscar Moller First Career Goal
Oscar Moller's first goal in the NHL was not how he pictured it, that's for sure.
Al MacInnis
Al MacInnis has a hard enough shot to score from any distance.
Lidstrom Snipes on Cloutier
Nicklas Lidstrom is a threat from the point and always has been. On this goal he decided to challenge himself by stepping back to the red line.
Brodeur Scoring on Himself
Martin Brodeur has always been one for the timely save. However, he also managed to make a huge blunder at the worst possible time.
Rask Loses Focus
Tuukka Rask looked like a young goalie on this one.
Bryan McCabe Scores Own Goal
Bryan McCabe was so mad about this goal he let some profanities slip in his postgame interviews.
Niclas Wallin Own Goal
Who was Niclas Wallin passing this puck to?
Marc Bergevin Uses His Hands
Marc Bergevin isn't supposed to throw the puck with his hands. More importantly, if he is going to throw the puck, he shouldn't be aiming for the back of his own net.
Keith Ballard Is a Bit Confused
Even Keith Ballard took a while to realize exactly how this goal went in.
More Toskala
Like I said, Vesa Toskala has had some terrible luck in his career.
Tough Bounce for Vokoun
Tomas Vokoun is a solid, veteran goaltender in the NHL. These types of goals can happen to anyone.
Vokoun Again
Sometimes, these goals happen to great goalies more than once.
Steve Smith with a Costly Mistake
Steve Smith made the most regrettable mistake of his career on this play, scoring an own goal to help the Flames advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Manitoba Moose Get an Easy Victory
We take a break from the NHL blunders to take a look at an AHL miscue. Manitoba will never score an easier game winner than this one.
Owen Nolan with a Clutch Long Shot
Owen Nolan didn't exactly envision this puck going in the net when he shot it, but I'm sure he'll live with the result.
Lalime Wants This One Back
Patrick Lalime picked a lousy time to lose focus, letting in a weak playoff goal to a huge rival.
Osgood Screws Up
The above goal is arguably the greatest moment in San Jose Sharks history. That overshadows the fact that this goal was a complete fluke.
Spezza Sneaks One in
Jason Spezza doesn't need a ton of room to put the puck in the back of the net.
Anti-Climatic Game Winner
The Philadelphia Flyers have had goaltending issues for years. It's only fitting that a soft goal would end their shot at the 2010 Stanley Cup.
Jimmy Howard Lets in a Softy
Jimmy Howard wasn't ready for this shot. That's the only reason I can come up with for this puck sneaking by him.
Bolland Gets a Lucky Bounce
Roberto Luongo finally got the monkey off of his back in terms of beating Chicago, but with fluky goals like this one, it is easy to see why Big Lou had such a tough time.
Carolina Sneaks a Victory
Communication between goaltenders and defensemen is huge. This is evidence of that.
Tim Thomas Plays Nice
Tim Thomas may or may not have let this goal in on purpose. I would hope so, because it was pretty weak.
Cooke Gets a Shorty from a Long Way Away
Goaltenders often try to get too cute when playing the puck. It almost always comes back to bite them.
Center Ice Magic
For such a talented goaltender, Chris Osgood sure does have quite a few goals on this list.
Lidstrom Comes Through Again
Nicklas Lidstrom has a keen ability to score from deep. Just another in a long list of his great qualities.
Patrick Roy Fumbles
Patrick Roy was eager to show the ref that he made an incredible glove save. He should have been a bit more eager to secure the puck first.
A Rare Miscue from Kipper
It's not often that we see a miscue like this from Miikka Kiprusoff.
Fake Dump in
Mike Smith was totally fooled by a fake dump in. That's pretty humiliating.
Funny Bounce
The Atlanta Thrashers truly could not catch a break during their existence.
Chelios Gets Lucky
Chris Chelios gets some credit for his pump fake, but this was still a total softie.
Tricky Backhand
Backhanders can be tricky. Just ask Antti Niemi.
Jon Quick Is Upset About This One
Jonathan Quick was visibly upset after this goal, and for good reason.
Rick Nash Weird Angle
Weird angles are no problem for Rick Nash. He is talented enough to score from anywhere on the ice.
Hartnell Sneaks One Passed Thomas
It's rare that Tim Thomas loses his focus, so Scott Hartnell got pretty lucky on this goal.
Jeff Carter Behind the Net
Jeff Carter took full advantage of the fact that Marc-Andre Fleury was out of the lineup and threw the puck on net from all over the ice. His shot from behind the net actually made its way through.
Pierre Turgeon
Pierre Turgeon was the king of scoring from behind the net. Maybe he was just lucky. We'll never know.
Never Quit
This goal is the reason why you never give up on the play, kids.
Pucks on Net
Has your hockey coach ever told you to just put the puck on net? This is why. Anything can happen.
Buzzkill
After such a hard fought series between the Sharks and Canucks, this bounce created an anti-climatic ending.
Lucky Number 500
Jeremy Roenick will always remember his 500th career goal, both because it was a milestone and a really weird goal.
Datsyukian Bounce
Pavel Datsyuk is a magician with the puck, so it is no wonder he gets bounces like this.
Johan Hedberg Messes Up
Johan Hedberg should stay in his crease if this is how he is going to play the puck.
Luongo Lets in a Soft One
When Roberto Luongo lets in a soft goal, the entire hockey world has to know about it. That's just the way it is.
Whammy
It's hard enough to keep the other team from scoring on an empty net. The Dallas Stars were unfortuante enough to fumble the puck into their own empty not on this play.
Fleury's Blunder
Marc-Andre Fleury is generally a very reliable goaltender, but nobody is perfect.
James Neal Gets Lucky
James Neal is lucky to be surrounded by such talented players. He is even luckier when he gets goals like this one.
Fleury Misses the Weird Angle
Marc-Andre Fleury struggles from this angle, huh?