Hextall recalls historic goal

Assistant general manager Ron Hextall, on the road again, was headed to a junior hockey game at Lewiston, Maine, to watch a prized Kings prospect, goalie Jonathan Bernier.

An acquaintance asked Hextall whether he would say to the prodigy: “Hey, kid, I scored a goal 20 years ago, you should too.”

He laughed. “I don’t want to say that because then I’ve got to admit it was before he was born,” said Hextall, who is 43.

Good point. Today is the 20th anniversary of Hextall’s historic goal, a feat that resonates because he was the first goaltender to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opposing net.

His goal for the Flyers came in a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins at Philadelphia. Two years later, he did it again in a Flyers playoff game against Washington.

“The fans would be screaming, ‘Shoot, shoot.’ And the media would say: ‘Are you ever gonna score a goal?’ Finally I just said, ‘Guys, I’ll score a goal, just give me time,’ ” Hextall said.

“I honestly didn’t think it was that big a deal. But I think it hit me when my teammates came over the boards and we had a big scrum. Almost like we won a playoff round.”

Hextall thought his family background -- he was the fourth Hextall to play in the league -- and years as a kid practicing on outdoor rinks with a players’ stick, produced his stick-handling abilities.

“The way I approached the game, I got bored at times when I was younger and the puck would come down and I’d stop it or move it, just to be involved in the play,” he said.

Hextall played forward briefly as an 8-year-old at the insistence of his father. But he had the heart of a goalie. “My mom said when I was 2 years old, I used to throw a sock up and down the stairs and stop it,” Hextall said. “So when you ask me when I wanted to be a goalie, I don’t have an answer.”

The Canucks broke their organizational silence, issuing a statement denying allegations that Kings Coach Marc Crawford may have helped provoke Todd Bertuzzi’s attack against Steve Moore:

“At no time did the Vancouver Canucks organization or any of its management and employees, including former coach Mr. Crawford, encourage or promote the incident that occurred between Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore on March 8, 2004.

“We believe that many of the proposed allegations now being advanced on behalf of Mr. Moore against the Vancouver Canucks are inaccurate or speculative.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Phoenix, 7:30, FSN West

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 1150.

Records -- Kings 11-15-2, Coyotes 12-15-0.

Record vs. Coyotes -- 0-3-0.

Update -- The Kings have scored only twice in three games against Phoenix.

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com