Watch: Golden Knights win Game 3 with buzzer-beating goal

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) controls the puck against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

Watch: Golden Knights win Game 3 with shocking buzzer-beating goal

By Adam Gretz | Last updated May 11, 2025 11:01 AM ET

The Vegas Golden Knights needed a win on Saturday night, and they got it in one of the most incredible and unexpected ways. Reilly Smith's buzzer-beating goal with 0.4 seconds to play in the third period lifted Vegas to a 4-3 win, getting them on the board in their second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Edmonton still leads the series, 2-1, but this is the type of game that could be a huge momentum shifter.

Here is a look at Smith's goal as it deflected in off the stick of Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl.

A BUZZER BEATER OF ALL BUZZER BEATERS

REILLY SMITH WINS IT FOR VEGAS WITH 0.4 SECONDS LEFT IN REGULATION!!! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/PZIGMQE1Ba
— NHL (@NHL) May 11, 2025

That goal came just three minutes after Edmonton's Connor McDavid tied the game.

As the seconds ticked down in regulation, overtime looked to be a certainty, until that happened.

And it was a wild play.

First, it was a great individual effort from Smith to get the puck on the net.

It was also another bad play by Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (who has not been good enough), and an unlucky play for Draisaitl to have the puck go in his own net. He has scored a lot of goals for the Oilers in the playoffs over the years, but it is not the way they want to see the puck going in the net off of him.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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