Forty-year-old Mike Smith has seen it all—except a shot where he didn’t see the puck. That changed late in Game 4 against the Flames on Tuesday..In what the Daily Hive called “one of the strangest playoff goals of all time,” Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson took a slap shot from his own end that somehow made it past the Oilers goalie..“I can laugh now, right?” Smith said after the game..“I don’t think there’s been a time in my career where I’ve lost a puck where I have no idea where it went… A win’s a win.”.That win was far from certain when Smith let in the literal long-shot goal. After dropping a 3-0 lead to the Oilers in the first period, Andersson’s shot with 9:04 left in the second period brought the game to a 3-3 tie..The first goal in the game was due to another goalie error, this one by Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom. He mishandled a pass attempt from behind the net, allowing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to score on an open net just 21 seconds into the game. Zach Hyman scored on a rebound during an Oilers power play halfway through the period, breaking out in the widest of smiles. Evander Kane’s 11th goal of the playoffs gave the Oilers a 3-0 lead..The Oilers’ confidence was shaken after the Flames scored two goals 36 seconds apart in the second period, the first sniped by Elias Lindholm on the power play, and the second by a Mikael Backlund streaking down the right side and beating Mike Smith under his right arm..The 3-3 tie was broken late in the third period as a forechecking Kailer Yamamoto got the puck back to defenseman Tyson Barrie. Nugent-Hopkins scored the rebound to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead. Andersson took a double minor for high sticking with 2:40 to go, making it all the easier for Kane to score an empty netter on the power play..Ironically, Andersson said it was his team’s best showing..“Overall, I thought this was the best game we’ve played in this series,” said Andersson. “Obviously, we’re in a tough situation right now. But it starts with we just have to win one game and take it from there.”.Flames captain Chris Tanev returned after missing four games with a separated shoulder. At times his winces and grimaces showed how much he was hurting. He was hit simultaneously by Josh Archibald and Zach Kassian on his second shift. Archibald and Kassian tried to give Zadorov a double-whammy as well, only to have him dodge them both and make the Oilers collide in spectacular fashion..The Oilers team and its stars are on a roll. McDavid had his seventh straight multi-point game. Zach Hyman has scored in four straight games. McDavid leads playoff points with 25, teammate Leon Drysaityl is second at 22, and their linemate Kane is tied with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for third place at 15 points. Kane’s 12 playoff goals are tops in the league and are 7 short of the playoff season record of 19..Calgary will need to beat the Oilers three games straight to take the series, but the Oilers haven’t surrendered three straight losses since early March. Game 5 is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Calgary.
