Leon Draisaitl’s one-handed pass intended for Corey Perry deflected off Niko Mikkola and through the legs of Sergei Bobrovsky 11:18 into overtime, giving the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Edmonton overcame a three-goal deficit and Sam Reinhart’s electrifying game-tying goal, which happened with twenty-seconds remaining in regulation, to shockingly knot the series at two games apiece.
Reinhart was the only Panther able to solve Calvin Pickard, who came on to start the second period and finished the game with 22 saves.
Los Gatos picked right up from where they left off in Game 3, absolutely dominating the Oilers to build the three-goal lead they coughed up like a hair ball in the second period.
After Evander Kane and Darnell Nurse took penalties 58 second apart, Aleksander Barkov won a faceoff in the left circle. Matthew Tkachuk collected the puck, loaded up and sent a hard wrister past Stuart Skinner at 11:40 for his first off the series, just four seconds after Nurse joined Kane in the sin bin.
A high-sticking call on Mattias Ekholm put the Cats on their fourth power play of the stanza and Tkachuk converted again at 16:56 to double the lead. Barkov sent the puck down low to Tkachuk and he immediately found Sam Reinhart in the slot. The pass wasn’t clean, but Reinhart was able to gather and get a good shot on Skinner, who couldn’t absorb it. The rebound came to Tkachuk and he flung it into the net.
Florida went up by three at 19:18 when Reinhart languidly dumped the puck below the goal line. Carter Verhaeghe harried Troy Stecher, who whiffed on the puck. Verhaeghe took possession and centered in front to Anton Lundell and he buried it. At that point, the Cats had scored ten of the last eleven goals.
Mistakes cracked the door for the Oilers and with Pickard set to give them the big saves they weren’t getting from Skinner, they spent most of the frame kicking it down.
Sam Bennett let Draisaitl get a step on him and took a tripping penalty. Edmonton went to work on the ensuing power play and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins took a crossing pass from Connor McDavid and roofed a shot on Bobrovsky from the left circle at 3:33. Bobrovksy, who has a penchant for ceding the top of the net had to crouch even lower than usual as he was screened by Barkov. The second assist on the goal went to Draisaitl.
Pickard would come up with a enormous save on Lundell soon after, and eventually the Oilers would halve the deficit at 12:47 when Nurse took advantage of Bobrovsky up high again, finishing off a pretty pass from Ekholm with a shot from a sharp angle that soared over the keeper’s right shoulder. This time, the secondary helper was credited to Adam Henrique.
Florida continued to meltdown and the Western Conference champs evened the score at 15:05. Draisaitl won an offensive draw back to Nurse and he quickly rounded the net before throwing the puck in front, where it was whacked in by Vasily Podkolzin, who worked himself free from Mikkola.
The Oilers forged ahead with 6:24 left in regulation. After pinning the Panthers in their zone, Edmonton was able to change while Nugent-Hopkins was causing trouble down low. Reinhart’s short pass to Barkov put the captain in tough spot. With the puck in his skates and no momentum, Barkov was stripped of the puck. Nugent-Hopkins slipped a pass to Kasperi Kapanen and he crossed to Jake Walman. The open defenseman pounded home a 90-mph shot from the right circle.
With time running out and Bobrovsky off for an extra-attacker, a partial whiff by Pickard below the goal line helped the Panthers take possession along the right-side boards. Verhaeghe passed to Bennett, who crossed to Reinhart. Reinhart tried to work a quick play to Tkachuk, but it didn’t click. Fortunately, the puck returned to Reinhart and he fired it just inside the near post for the glorious equalizer. 19:40!
The Cats were a whisker away from winning it in overtime, but Pickard got just enough of his glove on a shot from Bennett and the puck caught the cross bar instead of finding of twine. Ugh!
A sloppy change aided the Oilers on the devastating game-winner that saw Podkolzin tip Ekholm’s headman pass all the way across the offensive zone to Draisaitl. With A.J. Greer in hot pursuit, Draisaitl sent a backhand feed in front that was blocked off by a diving Mikkola. The puck sickeningly found it’s way through a helpless Bobrovsky’s five-hole, giving Draisaitl the NHL record for the most overtime goals (4) in a single postseason. Heartbreaker…
Edmonton has built a strong “team of destiny” vibe throughout its playoff run. The Panthers seemed to kill that vibe with the double-overtime win in Game 2 and the blowout in Game 3. Thanks to Florida’s god-awful performance in the second period and their inability to finish in the first half of the overtime, that vibe is back. The Panthers’ uncharacteristic gagging up of multi-goal leads in Game 1 and now Game 4 could very well cost them another title. They are going to deliver a huge effort in Edmonton in Game 5. With the way the Panthers are playing at home, they might have to win twice at Rogers Place to claim another crown. I’d never count this team out, but at moment this feels like a costly defeat. A tenth postseason road win on Saturday is needed to change the narrative.
Stanley Stuff
- In addition to his record-setting overtime marker, Leon Draisaitl assisted on two goals and was one of four Oilers to register four shots on goal. He was named First Star for the second time in four games.
- Second Star Sam Reinhart matched Draisaitl with a goal and two assists. After a bit of a cold spell, Reinhart has scored in back-to-back games for the first time in this playoffs.
- After backstopping Edmonton’s comeback victory, 33-year-old journeyman Calvin Pickard is now a perfect 7-0 in the postseason. Quite the story.
- Florida’s first period explosion saw Matthew Tkachuk notch his first two goals of the series and Aleksander Barkov (two assists) collect his first two points. Tkachuk’s 3-point effort tied with Sam Bennett, who had an assist, for the team scoring lead with 21 points.
- Third liners Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen each finished the tilt with a game-high five shots on goal.
StatCard
