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Oilers goalie Mike Smith lets in worst goal in playoff history, immediately tries to blame someone else
The Edmonton Oilers took a 3-1 series lead in the Battle of Alberta Tuesday night, beating the Calgary Flames 5-3 for their third straight win after losing Game 1 9-6. All is well in Edmonton, right?
For now, yes. The Oilers will have at least three chances to eliminate their hated-rival to advance to the Western Conference Finals, somewhere the franchise has not been since the 2005-2006 season, when it made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. Deep down, though, the team and its the fanbase knows it may still have a massive road block in the way of raising its first Cup in over three decades, and that road block is Oilers goalie Mike Smith.
Fortunately for Smith, Edmonton's high-octane offense can often outscore the opposition. But that could prove to be quite difficult should they face the Colorado Avalanche next round, a team that can match any team on the planet goal for goal. Especially if Smith is going to let in goals like the one he let in on Tuesday night:
No exaggeration, this is among the worst goals ever let up in playoff history, and it may have very well gone down as the worst had the Oilers lost. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and this just so happened to be the game-tying goal with under 10 minutes to go in the game. Had the Flames won and tied up the series 2-2 after being down 3-0, this would become the stuff of Canada legend.
Luckily, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins saved Smith from some serious nightmares with the go-ahead goal with under four minutes to play, and Evander Kane sealed the deal with an empty-netter with 25 seconds to go. Still, Oilers fans have to be nervous with Smith in net, even if they do have a commanding 3-1 lead.
We'll credit Smith for locking it down afterward, saving the next six shots he faced to secure the victory. He could have very easily been shook and given away a cheap game-winner. And he seemingly did accept blame in the postgame, saying he simply never saw the puck. Having said that, he should probably keep an eye on that thing in Game 5, no matter where it's shot from.