With 3-1 lead and 3:30 left in the first semifinal of the 2024 NHL All-Star Semifinal between Team McDavid and Team MacKinnon, it looked like Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and Team MacKinnon were going to cruise into the final.
Swayman was in net for the second 10-minute half, relieving Colorado Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev, and had just stopped Bruins teammate David Pastrnak – who was playing on the other side with Team McDavid – on a breakaway to maintain the lead.
“In the game, I wanted to get one on [Swayman],” Pastrnak told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. “I thought I will have nice breakaway. Sid [Crosby] actually made a great back check, [Swayman] got a good save out of me, so I thought that was it.”
Then the tide changed.
Team McDavid pulled Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for an extra skater, and Pastrnak got what he wanted, beating Swayman with a quick shot from the slot to cut it to 3-2 with 31.5 seconds left.
McDavid managed to tie it with 5.4 seconds left with another extra attacker goal, which forced a surprise shootout.
McDavid beat Swayman again on the first shootout attempt, and after misses from Crosby (MacKinnon), Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (McDavid) and MacKinnon, Pastrnak was set up with the chance to secure the comeback win.
Pastrnak skated in, pulled the puck behind him and snapped it low to earn the full bragging rights over his teammate and send Team McDavid to the All-Star Finals.
“We obviously do that a lot in practice, so it’s fun to score it, and you have to go out of your way a little bit against him because he knows all your moves,” Pastrnak said.
Team McDavid will face Bruins coach Jim Montgomery and Team Matthews in the Finals after the latter defeated Team Hughes 6-5 in a shootout in the other semifinal matchup.