Leon Draisaitl etched his name even deeper into NHL playoff history on Thursday night, scoring a record-setting overtime winner as the Edmonton Oilers stunned the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
With his fourth overtime goal of the postseason, the most ever in a single NHL playoff run, Draisaitl completed a three-point night and sealed an epic comeback for the Oilers, who clawed back from a 3-0 first-period deficit, Idman.biz reports.
The best-of-seven series is now tied 2-2 as it heads back to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday.
“We believe no matter how bad it is,” said Draisaitl, who now shares company with Wayne Gretzky as the only players in league history to post multiple playoff runs with at least 10 goals and 20 assists. “If we get over that hump of adversity, we're going to keep pushing.”
Draisaitl, who also netted the Game 1 overtime winner, became just the third player ever to score multiple OT goals in a Stanley Cup Final. His latest came on a one-handed pass attempt that deflected off a Florida defender and into the net, silencing the home crowd at Amerant Bank Arena.
The Panthers looked poised to take a commanding 3-1 series lead after dominating the first 20 minutes. Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, his first goals of the series, and Anton Lundell added a late-period tally to give Florida a 3-0 advantage. It was a scenario that had historically been a death sentence for teams trailing in the final: 37-0 all-time in favor of those with a 3-0 lead after one period.
But Edmonton flipped the script.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ignited the turnaround with a power-play goal early in the second, followed by goals from Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin to tie the game by the end of the period. Jake Walman gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead midway through the third, only for Sam Reinhart to equalize for the Panthers with just 19.5 seconds left in regulation.
After Stuart Skinner allowed three goals on 17 shots in the first period, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch turned to backup goalie Calvin Pickard — and once again, he delivered. Pickard stopped 22 of 23 shots and improved his postseason record to a perfect 7-0.
“He made some huge saves, really tough saves, clutch saves,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who had a goal and an assist. “Unbelievable to be able to step into a game like that.”
Pickard, who returned from injury earlier this postseason, previously saved the Oilers' first-round hopes against the Los Angeles Kings and is quickly becoming one of the stories of the playoffs.
Tkachuk (2G, 1A) and Reinhart (1G, 2A) led the way for Florida, but it wasn’t enough to contain Edmonton’s relentless push. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves but could not stop the deflection that ended the game in overtime.
“If you plan for seven games, that means you're losing three of them,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “So, take that pain and use it and come back.”
Tkachuk echoed the sentiment: “The result at the end hurts, but what are you gonna do? The team that recovers the fastest will have the bigger advantage on Saturday.”
Game 5 is set for Saturday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, with both teams now effectively locked into a best-of-three showdown for the Cup. With three of the first four games needing overtime, the margin between victory and defeat remains razor-thin.
Idman.biz
