Today in Hockey History: Petr Nedved Scores in Quadruple Overtime

April 24, 1996: Pittsburgh Penguins winger Petr Nedved scored with 45 seconds remaining in quadruple overtime to win game 4 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals.

Drafted 2nd overall in the 1990 NHL entry draft (one pick behind Owen Nolan, three picks before Jaromir Jagr), Petr Nedved scored a career-high 45 goals in the 1995-96 regular season, priming him for the 1996 NHL playoffs.

Heading into game 4 at the US Airways Arena, the Pittsburgh Penguins were eager to take a 3-1 series lead over their conference-rivals, the Washington Capitals.

Win a Hockey Players Club X1X Hockey Stick by leading the Hockey Players Club Weekly Picks for the month — The HPC X1X: Pro Performance, Amateur Price

But the Pens found themselves down 2-0 just 7:36 into the second period thanks to a goal from Peter Bondra.

And just a little over 10 minutes later, Mario Lemieux was ejected from the game for jumping Capitals winger Todd Krygier. Yes, you read that correctly.

But it only took Nedved 8 minutes into the third period to tie the score at 2-2, setting the stage for the 5th longest game in NHL history.

Download the Hockey Players Club App

Adding to the craziness of the game, in the second overtime, Joe Juneau was awarded the first-ever penalty shot in overtime of an NHL playoff game.

Ken Wregget shut the door on Juneau and the rest of the Caps through almost 4 complete overtimes, giving Nedved and company a chance to be heroic.

With 4 seconds left on a Pens powerplay, Sergei Zubov moved the puck to Nedved who pump-faked the Capitals defender before putting the puck through a maze of traffic and over Olaf Kolzig’s shoulder for the game-winner!

What a legendary game and snipe!

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE