Original Misfits rescue Golden Knights in Game 3

The notion of “Puck Luck” sometimes cuts both ways.

One moment, it’s against you when Connor McDavid banks in a goal off the blade of Brayden McNabb’s skate. The next, it’s with you as Reilly Smith’s last-second shot attempt hit Leon Draisaitl’s stick and went into the Edmonton Oilers’ net with 0.4 seconds remaining to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 win Saturday in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series and new life down 2-1.

Game 4 is Monday at Rogers Place before returning to T-Mobile Arena Wednesday for Game 5.

This is becoming one of those crazy, weird series, one where the home team can’t win on its own ice, where goaltenders are running hot and cold then hot again, where key performers are getting hurt but finding ways to stay in the lineup.

The Oilers were looking to put the Knights at death’s door and as they quickly took a 2-0 first-period lead, it sure was looking like Vegas was in trouble. And that only magnified itself when captain Mark Stone left the game with an upper body injury, leaving coach Bruce Cassidy to scramble in readjusting his lines.

But the Oilers, who have proved they’re not afraid to play from behind, appear to have company. Their opponent has an equal amount of moxie and doesn’t panic when trailing.

‘There’s a lot of veteran guys in our room,” Smith said. “We never believe we’re out of it.”

Those veteran guys got it done., Nic Roy, who avoided suspension for his cross-check to the face of Trent Frederic in overtime during Game 2, got Vegas on the board. Then Smith got the first of his two goals to tie it 2-2.
They took the lead on William Karlsson’s goal that beat Stuart Skinner, who was in the Edmonton net because Calvin Pickard hurt his left leg late in regulation in Game 2 and was unavailable.

The Knights were able to keep McNabb on the ice despite his crashing hard into the end boards in OT after Viktor Arvidsson tripped him and landed shoulder-first into the wall. But McNabb fell victim to an unfortunate carom as McDavid’s pass to Draisaitl banked off his foot and past Adin Hill, who was emerging as a potential hero with some late-game saves.

With another overtime looming large, would the Knights hold up? Could they stay in this series?

It took a couple of Original Misfits to provide the answer. Both Karlsson and Smith have come up big before. The moment isn’t too big for them. And for Smith, who was in this position only because general manager Kelly McCrimmon was willing to bring him back at the trade deadline in March from the Rangers, his return has been a welcome one, on the ice and in the locker room.

Karlsson has played well in this series. His two-point evening and his ability to play both ends of the ice and not be a liability shows his value.

As we head to Monday’s Game 4, it’ll be interesting to see how the Oilers respond. Will there be a letdown? Will there be anger on their part for the way Game 3 ended? How rejuvenated do the Knights feel? After all, they played well in Game 2 but lost. They played well in Game 3 and won.

Will Stone be available? The Knights had Pavel Dorofeyev back in the lineup Saturday for the first time in this series and while he played over 15 minutes, he was kept off the scoresheet and had just one shot on goal. If Stone can’t go, I would expect Brandon Saad, who was held out Saturday, to be back on the ice Monday.

The Knights’ depth continues to be paying off. So are their smarts. Karlsson was wise enough to find Smith for the eventual game-winner after beating three Oilers to the puck in the final seconds. And Smith knew enough to shoot at the net and wound up being the recipient of the ultimate in puck luck.