In the craziest 15 seconds of ice hockey history, this rookie's last second goal took his team to the win

There are 60 minutes in a regulation NHL game and this week proved that everyone on the ice needs to be alert for every second and that it ain't over until it's over.

Across four of the 10 matches on Wednesday (AEDT), a tying goal was scored in the final 15 seconds of play that sent each contest into sudden-death overtime.

The Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche each fired a shot through their rival's goaltender in the dying moments to tie them up.

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It marked a new record in the league, doubling the previous mark of two games with 15-second buzzer beaters from March 2023.

Anaheim started the drama in Pittsburgh against the Penguins when Beckett Sennecke made his own bit of history, becoming the first rookie to score a tying goal in the final second while his team was shorthanded.

This means that his Ducks team had fewer players on the ice than opponents Pittsburgh due to one of his teammates serving a penalty.

Sennecke beat the buzzer after entering the offensive zone and stickhandling his way through traffic, quite literally with a singular second left on the clock.

Then the wind turned to New York where although the Islanders won the match 5-4, the Golden Knights created some late drama by tying up the score with 14 seconds left.

Paval Dorofeyev scored but his Vegas team lost in the subsequent shootout to a well-looking Isles side.

Next, was the Edmonton Oilers, who have sent themselves to the Stanley Cup twice in recent seasons, matching up with the formidable Florida Panthers and falling twice.

Third time can be a charm, they say - but not with this momentum.

The Oilers were down 3-0 to the Buffalo Sabres, the team colloquially known as the worst team in the league, but captain Connor McDavid, who is widely regarded as one of Canada's best hockey players ever, scored two goals in the third period.

He then sent one flying into the Sabres net with two seconds left on the clock, before Buffalo turned it around in overtime and scored just 33 seconds in to win it.

Last on the record-breaking night was Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar, one of the league's best defenders, who tied the game with eight seconds to go against Nashville.

Again, they also couldn't capitalise on their late push and fell 4-3 to the home team.

While there wasn't the magical momentum boost you'd expect from such a late goal, given three of these goals turned into team losses, it was an exciting bit of action.

Right now, it's a good time to be a Denver sports fan.

The Broncos are currently holding onto the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Nuggets are off to their best start since joining the NBA in 1976, and the Avalanche is leading the NHL in points after a scorching-hot start.