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.

Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. said he and his family were the subjects of death threats made on social media after he allowed seven runs as part of a 10-run first inning for the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.

A team spokesperson said the Astros notified the Houston Police Department and Major League Baseball security about the threats.

“I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with,” McCullers said. “So just as a father I think there have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me mostly, and I think actually one or two people from other issues around baseball actually had to go to jail for things like that. But I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them or next time they see us in public, they’re gonna stab my kids to death, things like that, it’s tough to hear as a dad.”

McCullers and his wife, Kara, have two young daughters.

McCullers (0-1) was making just his second start since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series after battling a series of right arm issues. An All-Star in 2018, he has spent all eight of his big league seasons in Houston.

A visibly upset manager Joe Espada addressed the threats at his postgame news conference.

“There are people who are threatening his life and the life of his kids because of his performance,” Espada said. “It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this. After all he’s done for this city, for his team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office — I got kids too and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad, very, very sad.

“Listen, he hasn’t pitched in 2½ years. … It’s going to take a little bit of time to get him going. And that’s fine. But this can’t happen. I’m really upset that this can happen to athletes.”

McCullers struggled with his command from the start Saturday. He walked leadoff hitter TJ Friedl before plunking Matt McLain on the backside. Elly De La Cruz then smacked an opposite-field, three-run homer to left to make it 3-0.

McCullers walked two more batters with one out before Tyler Stephenson hit an RBI single. Will Benson followed with an RBI double to make it 5-0 and chase McCullers.

He was replaced by Logan VanWey, but the Reds kept piling on, sending 15 batters to the plate before Santiago Espinal finally struck out to end the inning.

It was Cincinnati’s most runs in a first inning since August 1989, when they scored 14, also against the Astros.

“If you fail you fail on a very large stage [with] a lot of eyes and there’s nowhere to hide,” McCullers said. “At the end of the day, I just want to do my job. I just want to be a good pitcher for the Astros and I believe I’ll get there, but like I said I just think that having to worry about that, worry about leaving town and leaving them and things like that or dropping her off at school, I just think … there should be some type of decency.”

The Reds went on to win Saturday’s game 13-9 as Houston lost for the fourth time in the past six games.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

History was made in Vatican City on Thursday, when Pope Leo XIV was introduced as the first American to be elected pontiff.

Leo XIV (birth name Robert Francis Prevost) was born and raised in southern Chicagoland, where he served as an altar boy in the St. Mary of the Assumption parish. Now, as he ascends to the papacy, an unlikely Second City staple is celebrating the moment: the Chicago Cubs.

Congratulations to Pope Leo XIV! pic.twitter.com/s02yDDegQd

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 8, 2025

After his election, ABC reported that Leo XIV was a fan of the Cubs.

But John Prevost — Leo XIV’s brother — had a different view. Prevost spoke to WGN News in Chicago after Leo XIV’s election and rebuked the idea that the Pope was a Cubs fan.

“He was never, ever a Cubs fan,” Prevost said. “So I don’t know where that came from. He was always a [Chicago White] Sox fan.”

Later on Thursday, Chicago’s ABC7 affiliate also reported on Leo XIV’s White Sox fandom. The White Sox themselves got in on the action, posting their own video board celebration and a clip of Prevost’s interview with WGN.

Well, would you look at that… Congratulations to Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV pic.twitter.com/U5DJ7TOyDr

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 8, 2025

Prevost’s theory for the possible confusion? Their mother, whose family was from the north side of the city, was a Cubs fan.

The lone team that can conclusively claim to hold the rights to the new Pope’s fandom until further clarification is the Villanova Wildcats. Leo XIV graduated from the university as part of the Class of 1977.

“Roommates Show,” a podcast hosted by Wildcats-turned-New York Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, joked that they’d be having their fellow Villanova alumnus on the show in the near future.