 The series was tied at three wins apiece and a tie entering the eighth and deciding game , with millions of Canadians watching " the game of the century " . With the game tied at five late in the third , the Soviets were met with a concerted Canadian attack in the final seven minutes . With 34 seconds remaining in the game , Esposito took a shot at Vladislav Tretiak from 12 feet out . Paul Henderson scooped up the rebound and put it past the fallen Soviet goalie to score the goal that won the game , 6 – 5 , and the series . Later , Alexander <unk> , the former Soviet ambassador to Canada , argued that the Summit Series planted the seeds of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union , as it was one of the first times that the Soviet people had seen so many foreigners who had not come to do harm , but to share in the game . 
