Goalie's goal: Bruins' Ullmark scores empty-netter

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Goaltender Linus Ullmark scored into an empty net in the final minute, and the NHL-leading Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Saturday night for their sixth straight victory.

Ullmark made a save and fired a high wrist shot the length of the ice to become the 13th goalie in NHL history to score a goal — and the eighth to actually shoot the puck into the net.

“It’s one of the dreams I always had that I wanted to score a goal, and now I had the opportunity,” Ullmark said. “I tried it at the Winter Classic, didn’t really make it, and now everything came together.”

Ullmark made 26 saves in the win, and according to ESPN Stats & Information research, he became the first Bruins goaltender to score a goal and the first NHL netminder to post a tally since Pekka Rinne did so for the Nashville Predators on Jan. 9, 2020.

“It’s good to have talented goaltenders,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “We try to end games; that’s our mentality. It takes as much skill to chip a puck out just past the red line as it does to fire a puck from your own end into an empty net.”

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm and Brad Marchand had first-period goals for the Bruins.

“This was a Stanley Cup-winning type team, but I thought we hung in there,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “We played well. I’m kind of proud of the guys. Some of our top guys are a little tired.”

Lindholm opened the scoring on a power play with 2:52 left in the first period, beating goalie Arturs Silovs with a one-timer from the point.

Marchand made it 2-0 with 35 seconds left in the first, darting to the middle on a break and beating Silovs to the far side for his 19th goal of the season.

Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver, getting on the board at 7:24 of the third. Silovs stopped 32 shots for the home team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.