The National Hockey League turned 104 back on November 26th, and on Thursday, a new record was set for the most goaltenders to ever appear in a regular season with 100. The previous record was set during the 2020-21 season when 98 goalies played at least one game.
When Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Jack Lafontaine of the Carolina Hurricanes took to the crease on Thursday night, they became the 99th and 100th goaltenders to make an appearance in the NHL this season.
Here's even more impressive statistic related to all these goalies playing this season. According to Sportsnet Stats, more goalies have played during the 2021-22 season (100) than during the 25-years of the "Original Six" era (98).
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The obvious reason for this is because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a number of goaltenders to land in the NHL's protocol, as well as a number of injuries. Guys like
Daniil Tarasov (Columbus),
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo) and
Stuart Skinner (Edmonton) are just some of the goalies who probably didn't expect to appear in an NHL game this season but were forced to due to reasons listed above.
That number could grow to 101 goaltenders if and when Michael Houser makes an appearance for the Buffalo Sabres. Houser signed a one-year deal with the Sabres on Wednesday due to the Sabres having three goalies out with injuries.
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