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Former Penguin Reilly Smith Makes NHL History With All-Timer Buzzer Beater
Photo credit: Amy Irvin / Hockey Writers
The former Pittsburgh Penguins player Reilly Smith made NHL history last night with his buzzer-beater goal against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Vegas Golden Knights came into last night's game with one goal in mind: avoid facing elimination in Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers.
In the final moments of the third period, with the game tied at 3, the Golden Knights stole the win by scoring with 0.4 seconds left.
Reilly Smith shot a puck towards the net when Stuart Skinner was caught outside his zone, and Leon Draisaitl deflected it into the net to give the game to the Golden Knights.
If you missed it, here's how it went down:
The goal was the third-latest game-winning goal in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, per NHL.com.
After the game, Smith offered insights on the crucial goal, saying he took inspiration from his teammate William Karlsson, and wasn't sure the puck went in on the play:
"Honestly, I've seen Karlsson use that play a few times where he forechecks and spins it out in front of the net. Jumping out from the bench, I think there were about seven seconds and I just tried to get there as fast as possible.
'Karl' does a good job of hunting pucks and being the first on it and once it popped out, I saw a lot of guys sell out, so I just hoped I had enough time to kind of pump fake and find a line and it worked out."
"I think if I try to shoot that, it's getting stopped - if not by the first guy, then the second guy or the goalie. Sometimes you just hope for the best and that one seemed to work out; thankfully I had enough time."
"From my angle, it seemed like it hit the middle bar, but it came out so fast that I wasn't really sure if the time had expired. And then I take a peek at the ref and he's telling me it didn't go in. So, just fortunate we were able to get something with time running down there."
'Karl' does a good job of hunting pucks and being the first on it and once it popped out, I saw a lot of guys sell out, so I just hoped I had enough time to kind of pump fake and find a line and it worked out."
"I think if I try to shoot that, it's getting stopped - if not by the first guy, then the second guy or the goalie. Sometimes you just hope for the best and that one seemed to work out; thankfully I had enough time."
"From my angle, it seemed like it hit the middle bar, but it came out so fast that I wasn't really sure if the time had expired. And then I take a peek at the ref and he's telling me it didn't go in. So, just fortunate we were able to get something with time running down there."
Listen to the player's full comments here:
The former Penguins player and the Golden Knights will be looking to tie the series against the Edmonton Oilers at 2, tomorrow night, in Vegas.
After a tough night for Draisaitl, we can expect the Oilers forward to have a bounce-back performance in Game 4.
| POLL | ||
MAI 11 | 108 ANSWERS Former Penguin Reilly Smith Makes NHL History With All-Timer Buzzer Beater Do you think Reilly Smith and the Vegas Golden Knights will reach the Stanley Cup Finals this year? | ||
| Yes | 22 | 20.4 % |
| No | 86 | 79.6 % |
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