Ryan O’Reilly trips on stick, scores OT game-winner vs. Kings (Video)

We’ve all come to expect the unexpected in the NHL’s 3-on-3 overtime. So perhaps Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres entered the extra session on Saturday night actually thinking, ‘Yeah, I’ll score the game-winning goal after tripping on an opponent’s stick and falling on my back in the slot…’ 

O’Reilly scored at 3:19 of overtime to give Buffalo the 2-1 win and end the Los Angeles Kings’ winning streak at six games. His 10th goal of the year could go down as one of the season’s most memorable.

The goal arrived after some spirited 3-on-3 play, including breakaways for Anze Kopitar and Brian Gionta. O’Reilly took a long lead pass from Jake McCabe and entered the Kings’ zone. He waited out Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, who slid to block the shot. Martinez stuck his stick out and it caught the right skate of O’Reilly.

As he fell to the ice, O’Reilly was able to snap a shot that beat (former Sabres goalie!) Jonas Enroth to the stick side. The fans went nuts. Enroth was not very pleased. For O’Reilly, it was goal No. 100 for his career.

By the way, this was sweet justice for McCabe, whose pass set up the goal. He actually had a go-ahead goal wiped away in the second period when the Kings challenged the play and it was found that Gionta was offside.

So in the end, the Sabres had a goal taken away by one new innovation and won the game on another. Such is the carousel of progress. 

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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