Penguins backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is happy to simply be playing again

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made history this past weekend.

Twice.

First, on Friday, he became the first goaltender in the first 88 seasons of the American Hockey League to record two goals.

Assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a conditioning assignment, Nedeljkovic scored his most recent goal — he has three in his career, including one at the ECHL level — during a 4-2 road win against the Providence Bruins. Oh, by the way, he coolly made 17 saves on 19 shots to get the victory.

Less than 48 hours later, Nedeljkovic was back on the organization’s NHL roster and steered the Penguins to the franchise’s first shutout of the Vegas Golden Knights by making 38 saves in a 3-0 win Sunday at PPG Paints Arena.

Winding up in a record book or two is nice.

But simply playing a game might have been the greater accomplishment for Nedeljkovic, who had been on long-term injured reserve because of a suspected left knee injury he suffered in his previous NHL contest Oct. 24.

“He was our best player (Sunday),” Penguins forward Lars Eller said. “I’m happy for him to be back in the lineup and come back like this.

“’Ned’s feeling good, and he deserves it.”

That was evident Friday when Nedeljkovic offered something of an animated “bow-and-arrow” celebration when he sank his empty-net goal in Providence.

“It had been a while, so I had been thinking about that celebration for a long time,” Nedeljkovic said after Sunday’s game. “It was just really exciting.”

Formally activated from long-term injured reserve Sunday afternoon, Nedeljkovic was expected to start Sunday’s game given that the Penguins had games on back-to-back days. With starter Tristan Jarry manning the net in a 4-2 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Nedeljkovic was on the hill Sunday.

“A little chaotic, a lot of travel,” Nedeljkovic said. “But fun. It’s been a lot of fun. It was nice to get back out there in (a game against) Providence. It was about three-and-a-half weeks since I played. And obviously, (Sunday) was a great night as well.”

Like many of the Golden Knights’ shots, Nedeljkovic deflected praise and lauded the efforts of those defending him in the victory.

“(Teammates) did a good job; they were tying up sticks,” Nedeljkovic said. “Getting in lanes, blocking shots and cleaning up some rebounds for me, too. All around, it was a good night.”

So far this season, Nedeljkovic has only appeared in three games at the NHL level and has a 2-1-0 record, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.

Those are limited figures to be certain, but they represent an improvement over a 2022-23 campaign with the Detroit Red Wings. Appearing in only 15 NHL games last season, Nedeljkovic had a 5-7-2 record, a 3.53 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage.

“This year, I’m taking a lot from last year and understanding that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing every other night or every seven to 10 days or once a month,” Nedeljkovic said. “You’ve just got be ready to go when your name is called.”

The Penguins called on “Ned” on Sunday for the first time in 26 days.

“There’s a lot of reasons for him to be happy,” Eller said. “Back in the lineup, back up after grinding through an injury and rehabbing. Those things are always tough on guys when you’re out for weeks and you’re not with the team.

“So for him to come back this way, really happy for him.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Monday.