Buzzer Beater Bonanza Takes Over NHL

This NHL season has had no shortage of drama. From future Hall of Famers like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin turning back the clock, to young stars chasing down Nathan MacKinnon for the scoring title, the league has found itself in a perfect storm of storylines.

Add in a pace that has over a fourth of all games going beyond regulation, and fans are getting more bonus hockey than anyone expected. And really, who’s complaining? Sudden-death 3-on-3 overtime has become one of the most electric parts of the sport, even if the shootout still has its critics.

4 Game-Tying Goals in 15 Seconds or Less: An NHL First

Through the season’s first 425 games, 27.3% of them have needed extra time. If that holds, it will stand as the highest percentage of overtime games since the shootout era began in 2005-06. It would even top the 25% mark set in 2013-14.

Nearly every night this season, we’ve seen multiple games spill into overtime. We even recently witnessed something never seen before in league history: every game on a slate of four or more went to overtime. But last night, overtime history was made again — this time in a completely different way.

It became the first night in NHL history in which four different games featured game-tying goals in the final 15 seconds or less of regulation. And the wildest may have been the shocker in Pittsburgh that left Penguins fans stunned.

Sennecke’s 0.1-Second Miracle Stuns Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh led 3-2 with under nine seconds remaining and were also on a power play. The puck sat harmlessly behind Anaheim's net, and with Ville Husso skating to the bench, it looked like the Ducks had run out of time. Instead, chaos unfolded.

A desperate chip along the boards into the neutral zone from Jacob Trouba somehow threaded through every Penguin on the ice. Cutter Gauthier got to it first and immediately sent a cross-ice feed to Beckett Sennecke, who split three defenders and redirected the puck — off Erik Karlsson’s glove, no less — under Arturs Silovs with 0.1 seconds left (video below).

BUZZER BEATER! 🤯

WE ARE GOING TO OVERTIME IN PITTSBURGH THANKS TO BECKETT SENNECKE! pic.twitter.com/wwI1oV9aKa
— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2025

For a franchise with five Stanley Cups, it may go down as one of the most embarrassing goals against they’ve ever allowed, especially with Kris Letang and Karlsson both on the ice, unable to stop a rookie with seconds on the clock.

Vegas’ Misery in Extra Time Continues

The overtime chaos continued with another thriller on Long Island. The Golden Knights, who have openly discussed their struggles past regulation, found themselves trailing the Islanders 4-3 while on a late 6-on-4 power play with their goalie pulled.

After New York failed to clear the zone, Vegas zipped a few quick passes before Mitch Marner fired a shot on net. Pavel Dorofeyev buried the rebound with 14 seconds left (video below).

Pavel Dorofeyev hits the equalizer with 12 seconds remaining in regulation 😳 pic.twitter.com/7V21iDymNK
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 10, 2025

But in the shootout, things unraveled for Vegas, again. Both Marner and Shea Theodore lost the puck during their attempts, basically gifting the Islanders the win.

McDavid Magic Isn’t Enough

Next came Edmonton and Buffalo. The Sabres went into the third up 3-0, but the Oilers stormed back behind goals from Connor McDavid and Vasily Podkolzin to make it 3-2. With under two seconds left, McDavid scored his second of the night, tying the game 3-3 and lighting up Rogers Place (video below).

MCDAVID TIES IT WITH 1 SECOND LEFT OH MY 😵🚨 pic.twitter.com/zznC8CYQ4O
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 10, 2025

But the joy didn’t last long. Just over 30 seconds into overtime, Alex Tuch drifted into open space right in front of the net and buried his 11th of the season to end it.

Colorado Shocked by Struggling Predators

The night wrapped up with a stunning upset. The league-leading Colorado Avalanche faced a Nashville Predators squad near the bottom of the standings. Down 3-2 late, the Avalanche were on a power play and pulled Scott Wedgewood to make it a 6-on-4. Tehy worked the puck around the zone, and with 15 seconds left, MacKinnon found Martin Nečas, who fed Cale Makar for a long wrist shot that beat Juuse Saros clean (video below).

MAKAR TIES IT IN MUSIC CITY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gnjU9lBGFS
— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2025

But Nashville held strong in the shootout. Ryan O’Reilly scored the lone goal, handing the Predators one of their biggest wins of the season and dropping Colorado to 0-4 in shootouts.

Overtime madness has taken over the league, and while plenty of media members might not like working the extra time, fans are embracing every second of it. With more drama, more chaos, and more last-second heroics than any season in recent memory, this year’s NHL has turned “bonus hockey” into must-watch television and everyone’s hoping the frenzy continues.

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