As the NHL world recovers from the awe of watching Alex Ovechkin record his 895th regular season goal for the Washington Capitals franchise, a few former Flyers goaltenders can hold their heads up higher than their masked brothers.
Following the impressive scoring feat this weekend, Budweiser Canada launched the “Zero of 895” promotion to celebrate the goalies who appeared in a game against Ovechkin but did not concede a goal. This is not the first time Budweiser has honored a notable scoring achievement in the sporting world. In Dec. 2020, the beer company sent out beverages to the 160 goalkeepers who allowed a Lionel Messi goal after he broke Barcelona’s scoring record at 644 goals.
Twenty-nine netminders have appeared in a game against the NHL’s new all-time leading scorer and survived the contests without allowing a goal to the future Hall-of-Famer. Of those 29 heavily padded gentlemen, three players appeared as members of the Philadelphia Flyers during their careers.
Flyers goalies who kept Ovechkin off the scoresheet
Michal Neuvirth
A teammate of Ovechkin’s for six years between 2009 and 2014, Michal Neuvirth is the most successful goalie in stopping the legendary scorer according to games played and stops made. The second-round draft selection stopped 25 shots from Washington’s star in nine games over the remaining six years spent away from the Capitals. Neurvirth was traded to Buffalo in a March 2014 deal that returned goalie Jaroslav Halak to Washington.
Neuvirth finished his career with Philadelphia after signing a free-agent contract with the Flyers in the summer of 2015. The 6-foot-1 goalie appeared in 89 games for Philly with a 39-30-9 record, a 2.66 goals-against average (GAA), and a .908 save percentage (SV%) over four seasons. The netminder’s career .910 SV% ranks just outside the top 50 save percentages in league history.
Anthony Stolarz
Anthony Stolarz, the current starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs, was a second-round pick by Philadelphia in the 2012 NHL entry draft. The 6-foot-6 goalie appeared in 14 games for the Flyers over two seasons with a 6-4-4 record, a 2.86 GAA, and a.911 SV % between 2016 and 2019. Stolarz battled Ovechkin once during his career and was credited with four saves against the Russian star.
Philly traded Stolarz in a Feb. 2019 trade to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for netminder Cam Talbot. Last season, Stolarz was the backup goalie behind former Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as the Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup in team history. Stolarz, 31, signed a two-year contract with Toronto this past offseason. In his inaugural season for the Maple Leafs, the goalie from Edison, New Jersey, has an 18-8-3 record, a 2.26 GAA, and a .922 SV%.
Rob Zepp
While the NHL lockout in 2012-13 sucked for most of the hockey world, a Canadian goaltender was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the stoppage in NHL action. Rob Zepp had spent five seasons with the Berlin Polar Bears in Germany’s domestic league before the work stoppage. As fate would have it, a pair of notable Flyers, Claude Giroux and Daniel Briere, joined Eisbaren Berlin to play with the Bears during the lockout. They watched a 6-foot-1 goalie secure a 25-21-0 record with a 92% stop rate in the highly competitive league infused with NHL talent.
The 33-year-old Zepp jumped to the NHL the following season to join his new besties in Philly. The Canadian goalie appeared in 10 games and had a 5-2-0 record, a 2.89 GAA, and a .888 SV% during his lone season in the NHL during 2014-15. Zepp appeared in two contests versus Ovechkin and is credited with 10 stops. While he didn’t spend long in the NHL, Zepp’s impact on hockey is still ongoing. The former Flyers goalie is the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) Senior Director of Internation Strategy & Growth.
Curtis Joseph
The most high-profile name on the list did not wear Black and Orange during his career. Curtis Joseph, a 19-year NHL veteran, crossed paths with Ovechkin towards the twilight of his career. The Keswick, Ontario native appeared in 943 NHL games, with 454 wins, 352 losses, 96 ties, a 2.79 GAA, and a .906 SV%. Joseph appeared as a late replacement in a game against Washington and was credited with two saves on Ovechkin.
Congrats to the greatest goal scorer of all time @ovi8 . Feeling very lucky to have NOT been a part of it! 2 shots, 0 goals #kingofzero #gr8ness @BudweiserCanada pic.twitter.com/t5DnKeofyP
— Curtis Joseph (@Cujo) April 7, 2025
Ilya Sorokin, against whom Ovechkin scored No. 895 on Sunday, is one of three goaltenders listed alongside Joseph and Braden Holtby who has been nominated for the Vezina Trophy, the NHL’s annual award for the league’s top goalie. Joseph was in contention for the award eight times over almost two decades and finished as the runner-up to Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek in 1998-99. Sorokin finished second to Linus Ullmark in 2022-23 in the award voting. Holtby, the lone award winner on the list, claimed the Vezina Trophy in 2016 following a 48-9-7 season for Washington.
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
