Marek Malik perhaps isn’t the biggest star ever to play in the NHL. But he might be the one who scored the best shoot-out goal of all time in the league.
Malik did closer to 700 games in the NHL, scoring a total of 168 points. He did just two seasons in the New York Rangers, but the fans will never forget what he did in a shoot-out against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 26, 2005.
Malik skated to the right, slid the puck between his legs, and released a shot that made Madison Square Garden go crazy. To this day, it’s one of the most awesome shoot-out goals of all time.
Tom Tenney was the coach for Rangers back then and was the one who selected Malin to go out.
”I certainly was not expecting, as was no one else in the building expecting to see what he did. It was completely out there, and maybe that was the right approach. Maybe Malik was having just enough fun watching all of this, as I think we all did. It kind of didn’t matter, so go try something. He did, and it worked”, he told NBC.
When the NHL did an article about the goal, 11 years later, Malik spoke about it with pride.
”It’s hard to believe people still think about it and kind of remember the goal. It makes me proud and happy because we tried to play hockey for the fans. The fans still go back even after 11 years. It makes me really happy and proud”, he said.
