The NHL playoffs consistently deliver excitement, and Saturday evening was no exception, featuring a truly stunning play. Reilly Smith`s game-winning goal right at the buzzer secured a crucial victory for the Vegas Golden Knights, keeping their second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers alive.
Smith was undoubtedly the standout player of the night, scoring two goals in Vegas` 4-3 win over Edmonton in Game 3. His first goal was a thing of beauty, as he skated past three Oilers defenders and finished with a slick move against goaltender Stuart Skinner. Impressive as that was, it was overshadowed by the game`s conclusion.
With only 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Smith beat the buzzer with a goal that put Vegas on the board in the series. This provided a significant morale boost for the Golden Knights, especially since just minutes prior, Connor McDavid had tied the game with 3:02 remaining. It appeared Vegas might be headed for another heartbreaking defeat until Smith`s miraculous finish.
Earlier in the evening, the first game wasn`t quite as dramatic. The Carolina Hurricanes, anchored by goaltender Frederik Andersen, effectively shut down the Washington Capitals in a dominant 4-0 victory. Andersen stopped all 21 shots he faced, many of which were high-quality scoring opportunities.
It`s no surprise that Smith and Andersen earned spots on our list of the 3 Stars of the Night, recognizing the top performances from Saturday`s Stanley Cup Playoff games.
3. Corey Perry | RW | Oilers
Age seems irrelevant for Perry, who proved his value in Game 3. His two goals in the first period not only gave the Oilers an early advantage but also etched his name in history.
Just 7:19 into the game, Perry received a drop pass from Connor McDavid, advanced into the slot, and fired a shot past Adin Hill to open the scoring. Just 3:53 later, he deflected an Evan Bouchard point shot into the net.
With that second goal, the 39-year-old Perry became the oldest player in Oilers history to achieve a multi-goal game in the playoffs. He also became the third-oldest player in NHL history to score two goals in a single playoff period.
2. Frederik Andersen | G | Hurricanes
Andersen missed Game 5 of the previous series against the New Jersey Devils due to injury, raising questions about his readiness for the second round. However, Andersen has looked even sharper than before, delivering a stellar performance against the Washington Capitals in Game 3.
Andersen secured a shutout, stopping all 21 shots faced, but the statistics don`t fully capture his impact. Although the shot volume wasn`t exceptionally high, he faced numerous dangerous chances. According to Natural Stat Trick, he faced one more high-danger shot (8) than his Capitals counterpart, Logan Thompson (7), and saved 1.71 goals above average in the game. Between Andersen`s goaltending prowess and the Hurricanes` strong defensive system, Washington struggled significantly to generate offense.
1. Reilly Smith | RW | Golden Knights
With Mark Stone sidelined for much of Game 3 due to an upper-body injury, the Golden Knights needed another player to step up to turn the series around. Reilly Smith answered the call with his decisive buzzer-beating goal in Edmonton.
In the first period, Smith had already scored a beautiful goal to tie the game at 2-2, a play that would later become a minor detail compared to the finish. After Connor McDavid tied the score at 3-3 with just over three minutes remaining, overtime seemed likely for the second consecutive game between these teams.
As regulation time wound down, William Karlsson simply flipped the puck towards the net front. It found its way to the high slot where Smith collected it, faked out two defenders, waited for Skinner to commit, and fired the game-winner into the net with only 0.4 seconds remaining.
