McDavid skated in on Panthers netminder James Reimer, as the seconds ticked down from five to four, then three. As the centre approached the goal-line, he shifted from forehand to backhand, releasing a backhander that Reimer caught in the netting of his glove. The position of the Panthers' trapper was behind the goal-line, however, and the Oilers began celebrating a 4-3 overtime victory as 2.6 seconds remained on the clock.
"I thought it went in because he was already in his net, basically," said McDavid post-game, ending the night with three points (1G, 2A) to reach career point number 100 in his 92nd NHL game. "The refs did a good job and the guys in Toronto did a good job of finding a clear shot of it."
It was a wild finish to a back-and-forth match, as the Oilers got goals from Zack Kassian and Mark Letestu to put them up 2-0 in the first period. The Panthers scored three unanswered in response, with Vincent Trocheck and Michael Sgarbossa scoring to tie things up, then Greg McKegg tallying at 14:45 of the third period to give his squad the lead.