Now this is coming through in the nick of time.
For the first time in NHL history, there were four contests that featured game-tying goals within the final 15 seconds of regulation on the same day.
Cutting it even more close, two of the tying scores on Tuesday night came within the final 2 seconds, which marks just the second time that’s happened on the same day (Oct. 8, 2009), according to NHL Stats.
There was plenty of late-night drama on the ice.
Pavel Dorofeyev ofVegastied his game against the New York Islanders with 14 seconds left, whileColorado’sCale Makar came through on a power-play goal with 8 seconds remaining atNashville.
Connor McDavid cut it a little closer by scoring the equalizer forEdmontonwith 2 seconds on the clock versusBuffalo, and 19-year-old Beckett Sennecke ofAnaheimreally had a flair for the dramatic, scoring with 1 second left inPittsburgh.
Alas, not all the tying goals resulted in favorable endings.
Of the four late-scoring teams, only Anaheim prevailed — in a shootout, no less. Dorofeyev and the Golden Knights lost to the Islanders in a shootout. It was the same fate for Makar and the Avalanche, who lost in a shootout.
As for McDavid and the Oilers, they lost 33 seconds into OT when Buffalo’s Alex Tuch scored.