Best goals of 2024 shared by NHL.com writers

Everyone loves a good goal, it’s one of the primary reasons we watch hockey.

There was no shortage of goals this season, now with teams averaging 6.1 goals per game through 2024.

There were majestic goals, there were dramatic goals and there were historic goals. There were 100 hat tricks, 19 of which were of the natural variety.

We asked NHL.com staffers for their favorite goals of 2024 and here are the answers, in chronological order.

Panarin caps off Stadium Series

It’s incredible how quiet 79,690 hockey fans can be when they are waiting to see if a goal is good or not. That was the scene Feb. 18 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey while the officials were trying to determine if Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers had scored in overtime against the New York Islanders at the 2024 NHL Stadium Series. It was already a frantic scene, the Rangers battling from down three goals in the second period and then forcing overtime with two goals in the final 4:08. Ten seconds into overtime, Panarin knocked a clearing pass out of midair, went to the net where his shot was blocked, but the puck hit Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin and trickled across the goal line, which had come off its mooring. The goal was confirmed following a video review initiated by the NHL Situation Room in Toronto. When it was, MetLife Stadium erupted – with cheers from the Rangers fans and groans from the Islanders fans. It was a magical moment in what was a magical regular season for the Rangers. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

Joshua gets fancy in front

Net front-presence goals aren’t often pretty. They’re usually tip-ins, deflections or slam dunks off rebounds by forwards who are willing to accept the punishment that comes with screening the goalie. But a goal by Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua in a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on March 31 was a thing of beauty. Joshua was standing in front of Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal during a second period power play when he accepted a pass from forward Pius Suter near the right post. Joshua quickly spun, pulled the puck between his legs, and lifted it over Dostal’s blocker. “I don’t know if I try it a whole lot, but back in the day I used to be on the power play, so I know some things to do out there,” he said. “And I was just lucky enough to have that one go in.” -- William Douglas, staff writer

Perfect pass sticks a dagger in the Maple Leafs

The goal had everything. A perfect read, a perfect pass, a perfect shot. It had timing, coming in overtime of Game 7 in the Eastern Conference First Round, and rivalry, between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It may have saved the job of a head coach (for the moment) and cost another one his. You want drama? This goal had it all. With the Bruins and Maple Leafs tied in overtime at TD Garden, David Pastrnak snuck down the right side of the ice, getting behind Mitch Marner. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm knew what to do. He sent the puck across the ice from the red line, bouncing it off the end boards where Pastrnak collected it just outside the crease, moved the puck backhand to forehand to backhand, and beat Ilya Samsonov at 1:54 of overtime for the 2-1 win that sent the Bruins to the second round. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

McDavid "McWows" hockey world

On June 2 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Oilers captain Connor McDavid pulled off one of those special moments only a generational player can deliver. Perhaps it was best described by Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play man Chris Cuthbert, who simply said: "McWow." It was all that. With the Oilers leading the best-of-7 Western Conference Final 3-2 against the Dallas Stars, McDavid eluded Stars forward Sam Steel at the bottom of the left face-off circle before cutting in toward Miro Heiskanen. When the Stars' top defenseman looked to have cut off his path to the net, McDavid completed a ridiculous toe-drag around him before backhanding the puck past goalie Jake Oettinger to give the Oilers a lead they would never relinquish. "It's mind-boggling to see him pull off something like that," teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of the goal that put the Oilers up 1-0 at 4:17 of the first period en route to a 2-1 victory and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. Keep in mind that McDavid pulled this off against Heiskanen, one of the best defensemen in the sport. "There's only one player in the world that can make that happen," teammate Leon Draisaitl said. McWow indeed. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

McDavid slices Panthers, sets up Perry

Corey Perry got the power-play goal at 11:54 of the second period to extend the Edmonton Oilers lead to 4-1 against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. But it was Connor McDavid’s skating, skill and magic that made it happen. McDavid got the puck from Evan Bouchard about 180 feet from the goal. He revved up his skates. Perry hid along the right-wing boards at the blue line, out of the action as all four Panthers penalty killers focused on No. 97. McDavid went around Eetu Luostarinen at the Panthers’ blue line as Perry started to move toward the net. Dmitry Kulikov and Niko Mikkola were next. Both tried to close on McDavid, Mikkola with his long stick extended out, but the Oilers captain knifed through each. Mikkola reaching back now, still had his stick out, a last-gasp attempt to stop McDavid. He almost got it stick on stick. McDavid turned his back toward Mikkola, protected the puck and then hooked a forehanded pass across the slot to Perry, who had already dashed through the right face-off circle and behind Kevin Stenlund to the net. Perry was there in time to one-time it. Goal. Magic. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Reinhart’s Game 7 winner

It was definitely the biggest goal in the career of forward Sam Reinhart of the Panthers. But you have to see the whole sequence to really appreciate what ended up being the Stanley Cup-clincher for the Panthers in their 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. On the other end of the ice, 12 seconds before Reinhart’s goal, Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made a save on Edmonton forward Warren Foegele’s shot. Panthers defenseman Dmitri Kulikov, who was pushed from behind by Oilers forward Dylan Holloway, cleared the puck away from the goal mouth. You know the rest. Kulikov got a secondary assist, Reinhart the goal and the Panthers the first Cup in their history. Quite the sequence. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Utah gets on the board

The Utah Hockey Club played its inaugural game at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 8, facing the Chicago Blackhawks less than six months after the NHL established the new franchise April 18. The city was buzzing -- rock-star player arrivals, Shaboozey concert, fighter-jet flyover. Lauri Markkanen, the 7-foot forward for the NBA’s Utah Jazz from Finland, skated out in a Utah Hockey Club jersey to deliver the game puck to owners Ryan and Ashley Smith. Then 21-year-old forward Dylan Guenther, a key piece of the team’s future, one-timed the puck from the top of the right circle into the net at 4:56 of the first period, scoring the first goal in Utah Hockey Club history and igniting the new home crowd. “That building was special,” Guenther said after Utah’s 5-2 win. “That was a ton a fun, a lot of fun to play in front of that crowd. … If the building stays like that all year, it’s a huge advantage for us.” -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Remembering 'Johnny'

The most memorable goal for me didn't necessarily have to do with the actual play, but the heartfelt reaction after it. It happened Oct. 15 when Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan scored off his own rebound in front of the net to give his team a 2-1 lead against the Florida Panthers at 11:22 of the second period. After scoring the goal in the Blue Jackets' home opener, Monahan immediately pointed up to Johnny Gaudreau's banner in celebration. The banner had been raised before the game to honor Gaudreau. Monahan and Gaudreau were best friends; they played together and were teammates with the Calgary Flames for nine season (2013-22). In fact, Monahan signed with Columbus on July 1, 2024, to be with his friend. Johnny Gaudreau, along with his brother, Matthew, died Aug. 29 when they were struck by an alleged drunken driver while riding bicycles near their home in Salem County, New Jersey. "I felt like Johnny was watching down on us today," Monahan said after the game. "I had a feeling I was going to get one. Fortunately enough, I did. We lost, which [stinks]. But I definitely could feel John today." -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

On the bus with Gus

What’s better than a goalie goal? Nothing. That’s why the goal by Filip Gustavsson in a win against the St. Louis Blues is my favorite goal of 2024. Gustavsson is the tenth goalie to shoot the puck into the net and scored the 18th goalie goal when he gloved down a slap shot from the neutral zone and put the puck down at his stick, dropped to a knee, and sent a shot through the air all the way into the offensive zone, where it rolled into the net with nine seconds remaining. Perhaps almost as impressive as the goal was the smile waiting for him from his goalie partner, veteran Marc-Andre Fleury. It captured the moment perfectly. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Crosby assists on Malkin’s 500th

After Evgeni Malkin got the lone assist when Sidney Crosby scored his 500th NHL goal two seasons earlier, Malkin wished out loud that, “I hope someday he can give me an assist on my 500th goal!” Just as Malkin hoped, Crosby returned the favor for his longtime Pittsburgh Penguins’ teammate by getting the lone assist when Malkin scored his 500th in a 6-5 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16. Malkin worked a give-and-go with Crosby on his milestone goal, passing to the Penguins captain behind the net before heading to the front for the backhand return pass. Malkin fell when Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped his initial shot, but the 38-year-old knocked in the rebound while on his back. Malkin became the 48th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals and the fourth active, joining Crosby, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Steven Stamkos of the Nashville Predators. –- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

Crosby reaches 600

Sidney Crosby doesn’t score highlight-reel goals with speed and explosiveness like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, and he’s not going to stand in a face-off circle and fire howitzer blasts like Alex Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos. No, Crosby is going to score goals because he’s the smartest player on the ice. That’s how he’s done it for 20 seasons, and that’s how he become the 21st player in NHL history to score 600 goals, a milestone he reached Nov. 23 against the Utah Hockey Club. It was the typical Crosby goal. He sees the play developing, finds a soft spot in the offensive zone just above the goal line on the right side, and is in just the right place at just the right time to score on the Erik Karlsson set-up. It wasn’t the prettiest goal, and it didn’t leave a vapor trail on its way past goalie Karel Vejmelka. But it was smart, efficient and effective. It was another example of Crosby’s greatness. -- Adam Kimelman, staff writer