EDMONTON, Alberta — Reilly Smith scored with 0.4 seconds left on a shot that deflected in off Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl‘s stick to give the Vegas Golden Knights a stunning 4-3 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Smith’s goal is tied for the latest game winner in regulation in Stanley Cup playoffs history along with Nazem Kadri‘s goal for the Colorado Avalanche in 2020 and Jussi Jokinen’s goal for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2009, according to ESPN Research.

“Honestly, I’ve seen [Vegas forward William Karlsson] use that play a few times where he forechecks and spins it out in front of the net, jumping off the bench,” Smith said when asked about the play. “I think there was around seven seconds. I just tried. And being first on it. … So I thought there was a chance. And once it popped out I saw a lot of guys sell out. So I just hope that I had enough time to kind of pump-fake and find a lane and, you know, worked out.”

The game-winning goal came after Oilers star Connor McDavid tied it with 3:02 to go with a centering pass that went in off defender Brayden McNabb‘s skate.

“We didn’t sort it out very well to let the puck get into the slot. After that, it’s unlucky, it’s unfortunate,” Draisaitl said of the game-winning goal. “It goes off my stick, and I’m just trying to keep it out of the net. It’s just a bad bounce.”

After Corey Perry gave Edmonton an early 2-0 lead, Nicolas Roy and Smith tied it with goals in a 54-second span late in the first period. Karlsson put the Golden Knights in front with 2:55 left in the second, beating goalie Stuart Skinner off a give-and-go play with Noah Hanifin. And Adin Hill made 17 saves for Vegas.

The Golden Knights’ win Saturday cut Edmonton’s lead to 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series. Game 4 is Monday night in Edmonton.

“Before the series starts, if you were to tell us that we were gonna be up 2-1 after three, we’d be happy,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’d be pleased with that, not only up 2-1, but Game 4 at home.”

Vegas rallied in the first period after Golden Knights forward Mark Stone left because of an upper-body injury.

“Big win for our team,” Smith said. “We need to use the momentum in front of us to push forward, but focus one game at a time. That’s kind of always been the mindset for this group. We have a lot of resiliency. So as long as you focus on that next game and get a little bit better every night.”

Roy, playing a day after being fined but not suspended for cross-checking Trent Frederic in the face in overtime in Game 2, cut it to 2-1 off a rebound with 4:43 left in the first. Smith then slipped a backhander through Skinner’s legs with 3:49 to go in the period.

Skinner stopped 20 shots, taking over in goal for the injured Calvin Pickard. Pickard appeared uncomfortable and was seen shaking out his left leg after Vegas forward Tomas Hertl landed on his left pad in Game 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DENVER — For the next week or so, Kris Bryant will be restricted to not much more than a casual walk as he recovers from a procedure to fix his chronically bothersome back.

The Colorado Rockies designated hitter just hopes this finally alleviates the pain. Bryant returned to town after recently traveling to Los Angeles to undergo a procedure referred to as an ablation, which is designed to interrupt pain signals being sent from the back to the brain. He explained Saturday that it took roughly 45 minutes.

“I feel like I got stabbed in the back right now,” Bryant said before the Rockies played the San Diego Padres. “Not ideal, but I’m in good spirits.”

Once he’s cleared for more than a light stroll, Bryant will return to the weight room in an effort to build strength. There’s no timetable for a return to baseball activities quite yet.

“Just got to let nature take its course,” manager Bud Black explained.

Bryant’s currently on the injured list with lumbar degenerative disk disease, which involves the deterioration of the spinal disks that act as cushions between the vertebrae. It’s his ninth stint on the IL since 2022 due to a series of health issues.

His back has gotten to the point where cortisone shots no longer work. That’s why he had the ablation procedure. Anything to avoid back surgery.

“I don’t want to get to that point. I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Bryant said. “Just trying to check boxes as they go. We tried all the other, I guess you say, conservative treatments, or more traditional approaches with cortisone shots. They just didn’t work for me. So this was another step along the way.”

“I’m willing to try anything,” added Bryant, whose pain at times has brought on nausea. “It’s weighed on me, for sure. It just sucks.”

The 33-year-old Bryant is hitting .154 this season with no homers, one RBI, 13 strikeouts in 11 games.

Bryant has been limited to 170 games with Colorado since signing a $182 million, seven-year contract before the 2022 season. He’s suffered from an array of injuries, including plantar fasciitis, a bone bruise in his foot, heel issues, a broken finger, a back strain, a lower rib contusion and back problems.

“Right now I feel like I’m in a good spot,” said Bryant, the 2016 NL MVP with the Chicago Cubs. “It just wears on you. It’s not an easy thing for me to deal with but doing the best I can with a pretty crappy situation.”

He hasn’t set any sort of baseball goals quite yet.

“It’s really just one day at a time,” Bryant said. “Just continuing to do everything I can that’s in my power — and the training staff’s power — to find a way to navigate this.”

HOUSTON — Astros left fielder Jose Altuve left Saturday night’s 13-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning with right hamstring tightness.

Altuve was replaced by pinch-hitter Brendan Rodgers with one out in the third inning and Houston trailing 12-1.

He walked with one out in the first inning and scored on a single by Yainer Diaz with two outs.

“It’s just kind of sore, the hamstring, so we’re going to re-evaluate him and we’re going to see how he feels,” manager Joe Espada said.

Espada added that Altuve told him that his hamstring was feeling tight after he scored in the first inning.

Altuve, 35, is hitting .259 with four home runs and 14 RBIs this season.

Altuve has played mostly left field this season but was in the lineup at second base Saturday night.