HARTFORD, Conn., March 6 -- Chris Osgood, the league leader in goals-against average, has been so adept at stopping pucks this season he figured he'd try shooting one for a change. Like everything else with the Detroit Red Wings this season, the execution was flawless as Osgood became the third goaltender in NHL history to score a goal Wednesday night in Detroit's 4-2 victory over the Hartford Whalers. With Hartford goaltender Sean Burke off for an extra attacker, Osgood controlled a loose puck in front of his net and lofted a shot from the bottom edge of the left circle into the vacated net. 'I had a lot of time, I just looked up once and shot it and I just happened to have it on the right line this time,' Osgood said. 'In the NHL it's the first time I've tried it. I had a few other chances and just dished it off. I was jokingly saying that the next time I get a chance, I'm going to shoot it and see if I can get it in. There's a lot of other goalie categories I'd rather be in than scoring a goal. I guess I'll take this one first.' Ron Hextall and Billy Smith were the only other goalies to score. Hextall was the first to execute the feat in a regular-season game Dec. 8, 1987, against the Boston Bruins. He also did it in a playoff game on April 11, 1989, at Washington.
As a member of the New York Islanders, Smith was credited with a goal in a road game against the Colorado Rockies on Feb. 14, 1980. Smith did not shoot the puck into the net but was the last Islander player to touch the puck before a pass by a Colorado player went the length of the ice into an empty net. Osgood also stopped 26 shots for his 10th straight victory. He has won his last 10 starts and is unbeaten in his last 15 games (14-0-1). Osgood is one victory or one tie away from tying teammate Mike Vernon's team-record 16-game unbeaten streak, which was accomplished last season. Osgood, who hasn't lost since Jan. 8, improved to 32-5-3 for the season. Slava Kozlov also scored and Igor Larionov had two assists for Detroit, which tied a franchise record with its 48th victory of the season. The Red Wings, who became the fourth fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points, have won eight of their last nine games overall and four straight on the road. 'It's something that we knew we'd do but it's good to do it this early,' said Detroit coach Scotty Bowman aout reaching the 100-point mark. 'It says a lot about our consistency.' The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, also coached by Bowman, reached 100 points in 62 games while the 1971 Boston Bruins and the 1977-78 Canadiens hit the century mark in 63 games. Nelson Emerson and Andrei Nikolishin scored for the Whalers, who are 1-4-1 in their last six games and remained eight points behind Montreal for the final playoffspot in the Eastern Conference. Dino Ciccarelli's 14th goal of the season, a power-play tally 9:39 into the second period, gave Detroit a 2-1 edge. Steve Yzerman sent a pass to the left side of the net, where Ciccarelli scored. Fedorov's 28th goal, also a power-play marker 1:28 into the third period, made it 3-1. His point shot deflected off the skate of defenseman Glen Featherstone past Burke. 'It was a pretty close game, a little more open than we prefer to play,' Yzerman said. 'Our two power-play goals were the difference in the game.' Nikolishin scored his ninth goal at the 4:52 mark to pull Hartford within 3-2 before Osgood's ended the scoring. 'That's why they're first overall, because they win the close games, ' Emerson said. 'They can play either a skating or a defensive game.'
