Milan Lucic was given a game misconduct for pushing Mike Smith into the boards. (0:58)
Mike Smith was close to shutting out the Flames in the third game of the series on Sunday.
And then came Milan Lucic.
Lucic rammed into Smith while he was playing the puck behind the net as the Flames were down by four.
Smith was forced out of the game by NHL concussion spotters because of the collision. Smith was irate about the decision and tried to convince the refs to stay in the crease. He was replaced by Mikko Koskinen.
Lucic was assessed a five-minute penalty for charging and a game misconduct for his part in the incident. After the Flames lost 4-1 on the road in the first game of the series, the coach said he believed Lucic tried to cushion the blow.
Correct, they called it a penalty for charging. Can you imagine what would have happened if he charged? I think he tried to slow it down. It is what it is, it is the score and who it was.
Smith was confused about how the play was assessed.
He said that he didn't think his head hit anything. I didn't know what happened. I was playing the puck, and the next thing I know, I get buried into the end boards.
After a tough start to the Battle of Alberta, the veteran goaltender was finally in his element. Smith was pulled from the game after allowing three goals on nine shots. He was removed from the game on Sunday after making 28 saves, but he rebounded with a 37 save performance in the second game.
Smith returned to a standing ovation after Koskinen spent only 4:19 in net. He gave up one goal, to Oliver Kylington, after coming back, but was otherwise pristine.
Smith might have sufficed for goalie drama on other nights. Not in Game 3. All four goalies from both teams made appearances.
Jacob Markstrom was pulled from the game after giving up four goals on 34 shots. Dan was in net for the third.
Markstrom had allowed 11 goals through the first two games of the series. Markstrom made all 21 stops in the first period of the game, and he was a Vezina finalist.
52 seconds into the second period, the Eskimos opened the floodgates. Evander Kane scored a natural hat trick in only six minutes after he was on the board. Leon Draisaitl had four points. There were three forConnor McDavid.
After Game 3, Jay Woodcroft pointed out that while Smith was limited by injuries in the regular season, Markstrom had played a lot of hockey.
He only played 10 games in the playoffs, but he is in mid-season form. He didn't play 63 games during the season and had the wear and tear that comes with that.
Game 4 is Tuesday.
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