April 30, 1986: The Steve Smith Own Goal

April 30, 1986: Steve Smith turns 23, and has the worst birthday in hockey history.

In 1985, he made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers. He played 2 regular season games, and was not put on their Playoff roster, as they won their 2nd straight Stanley Cup. But in 1985-86, he was one of the League's top defensive rookies. He looked like he had a good career ahead of him. On April 30, he took the ice with the Oilers against their Provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, in Game 7 of the NHL Smythe Division Final, at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

The Flames stunned their Alberta rivals by taking a 2-0 lead, early in the 2nd period. But before that period ended, the Oilers tied the game.

At the 5:14 mark of the 3rd period, Smith took the puck near the side of his own net, and tried to pass it up the ice. But he made a mistake, and the puck went off the leg of Oiler goaltender Grant Fuhr, and into the goal.

Perry Berezan was the last Flames player to touch the puck, so he got credit for the goal. In soccer, the rule is different: Smith would have been "credited" with an "own goal."

The Flames' 3-2 lead held, and they won, eliminating the Oilers from the Playoffs. The Flames had lost to the Oilers in the Playoffs in 1983 and 1984, and would again in 1988 and 1991. This remains the only "Battle of Alberta" Playoff series that the Flames have won.

It is the most famous own goal in hockey history, and it produced the most devastating loss in the history of Edmonton sports. Oiler fans were outraged. But, led by Captain and superstar Wayne Gretzky, Smith's teammates stood up for him. The next year, the Oilers rebounded to win the Cup. When taking it from NHL President John Ziegler, Gretzky let Smith be the 2nd Oiler player to lift it, and the crowd at the Coliseum gave him a standing ovation. All was forgiven.

Smith would help the Oilers win the Cup again in 1988 and 1990, remaining with them for 1 more season. He joined the Chicago Blackhawks for the 1991-92 season, and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He stayed with the Hawks through 1997, then closed his career with, oddly enough, the Flames, playing for them until 2000.

In 804 regular-season NHL games, he had 72 goals and 303 assists. And he reached 4 Stanley Cup Finals, winning 3. A decent playing career, with one awful moment. He has since worked as an assistant coach with the Flames, the Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres, and a scout with the Blackhawks.

But that one awful moment tends to stand out. Is that fair? Did he really cost the Oilers the 1986 Stanley Cup, and prevent them from matching the 1956-60 Montreal Canadiens' run of 5 straight? Probably not. The Flames went on to reach the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Canadiens beat them in 5 games. They might have beaten the Oilers, too.

The Oilers had Grant Fuhr in goal; and on defense, Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe. All 3 were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. And they had other good defensemen: Lee Fogolin, Charlie Huddy -- and Steve Smith. That defense allowed 25 goals, including 4 in Game 1, 5 in Game 2 (which the Oilers won anyway), 4 in Game 4 (which the Oilers won anyway), and 4 in Game 5 before allowing the calamitous own goal.

And what about the Oilers' offense? This was a team with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson, all of whom are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And yet, they scored only 1 goal at home in Game 1, 2 in Game 3, 1 at home in Game 5, and 2 at home in Game 7. The most potent offense in NHL history, and they didn't get the job done.

And, in a situation like this, it's tempting to say that the side that won was actually better. Certainly, the Flames weren't as talent-laden as the Oilers. But they did sweep their previous Playoff series, against the Winnipeg Jets. They won Games 1 and 5 in Edmonton, before winning this shocking Game 7 in Edmonton. And they won the Conference Final over the St. Louis Blues.

They had Hall-of-Famers Lanny McDonald, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis and Joe Mullen; plus All-Stars Mike Vernon, Joel Otto and Gary Suter; Doug Risebrough, who had won 4 Cups with the Canadiens in the late 1970s; John Tonelli, who had won 4 Cups with the New York Islanders in the early 1980s; and Nick Fotiu, who had reached the Finals with the 1979 New York Rangers.

They did lose the Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens, although 2 of their losses were by 1 goal. And a slightly revamped Flames team beat the Canadiens in the Finals just 3 years later. So it's not like the Oilers lost to an undeserving team.

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April 30, 1986 was a Wednesday. The other series in the Clarence Campbell Conference also went to a Game 7, at the St. Louis Arena, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1.

One game was played in the NBA Playoffs: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 117-113 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Joe Niekro outpitched Bert Blyleven. Dave Winfield went 1-for-3 with a walk. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Gary Carter hit a home run. Dwight Gooden went 8 innings for the win, but struck out only 5. This game would be typical of his starts that season: Effective, but not the kind of dazzling performance he'd put on the previous 2 seasons. Everyone could see that something was a little off, but didn't know what. Not that it mattered: He was still winning.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Wade Boggs went 1-for-3 with 3 walks and an RBI.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. How many Astro pitchers does it take to pitch a 6-hit shutout? This time, 4: Mike Scott, 6 hits and 4 walks over 6 1/3rd innings; Frank DiPino, pitching to only 1 batter and getting him out; Charlie Kerfeld, finishing the 7th and pitching the 8th with no hits; and Dave Smith, pitching a scoreless 9th. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the California Angels, 6-4 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Reds player-manager Pete Rose put himself into the lineup, and went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. George Brett went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-6 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Eddie Murray went 2-for-3 with a home run, 2 walks and 3 RBIs. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-4. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-0 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Mark Thurmond took a perfect game into the 7th inning, when Willie McGee singled with 1 out. He also walked Vince Coleman in the 9th. Those were the only baserunners he allowed. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Bob Welch pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Dennis Eckersley.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Chris Brown singled Robby Thompson home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.