The Edmonton Oilers emerged victorious from a whirlwind Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
After falling behind the Florida Panthers 3-0, taking a 4-3 third-period lead and seeing the Panthers tie the game at 4-4 in the final seconds of regulation, the Oilers never wavered and came out with a thrilling 5-4 victory in overtime to tie the series at 2-2.
In overtime, Oilers star Leon Draisaitl threw the puck on net and it deflected off of Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola's skate and through Sergei Bobrovsky's five-hole to tie the series before it heads back to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday.
It marked the fourth overtime game-winner of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Draisaitl, which establishes a new NHL record. Draisaitl turned in another impressive performance, this time with a goal and two assists.
Entering Game 4, teams that led by three-plus goals at the end of the first period in Stanley Cup Final games were 37-0 all-time. They're now 37-1. In addition, the Oilers became the first team to overcome a three-goal deficit and win a Stanley Cup road game since the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Seattle Metropolitans in Game 5 in 1919.
Prior to Draisaitl's game-winner, the Panthers were able to tie the game and ultimately force overtime in the final seconds of regulation. After Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard couldn't clear the puck up the boards, Panthers forward Sam Reinhart buried the tying goal off a scrum in front with just 19.5 seconds left in regulation.
That marked the second-latest goal in a Stanley Cup Final game in history, trailing only Corey Perry's game-winner with 18 seconds left in Game 2.
Panthers jumped out to 3-0 lead, prompting goalie change
The Panthers jumped all over the Oilers in the opening 20 minutes with three goals. Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring with a power-play goal from the face-off circle and later added a rebound goal.
Anton Lundell ended up making it a 3-0 game after scoring on a one-timer off a pass from teammate Carter Verhaeghe. That's when the Oilers decided to make a change as coach Kris Knoblauch elected to replace Stuart Skinner with Pickard, his backup.
Skinner had allowed 13 total goals across three games, which led Edmonton to make the switch. Pickard ended up producing a dominant effort in relief as he stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced. The veteran netminder, who is playing for his sixth NHL franchise, now has a 7-0 record during this year's playoffs.
The Oilers began their comeback with a goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins just 3:33 into the second period. At the 12:47 mark of the frame, defenseman Darnell Nurse let go of a perfectly-placed shot that snuck in over the shoulder of Bobrovsky. Finally, Vasily Podkolzin sent a sweeping backhanded shot into the net to tie the game with under five minutes remaining in the third.
Prior to Reinhart's game-tying goal for Florida, Oilers defenseman Jake Walman initially played the role of hero. After Aleksander Barkov turned the puck over in his own zone, Kasperi Kapanen found Walman for a one-timer that the veteran blue-liner ripped past Bobrovsky.
Now the series will shift to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday.
Pickard saves the day
Knoblauch stuck with Skinner entering Game 5, but that loyalty didn't last too long. Edmonton ended up pulling the plug on Skinner following a three-goal first period from Florida. While it was a forgettable frame for Skinner, it's hard to blame him for all three of those goals. The first goal resulted from a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity for the Panthers after Nurse committed a tripping penalty, and Tkachuk found the back of the net.
Regardless, the tide seemed to change shortly after electing to switch to Pickard. Pickard was sensational during his two-and-a-half periods in between the pipes as he turned aside 22 of the 23 shots that he faced. On Florida's tying goal, it ended up being chaos in front of the net where Tkachuk eventually got the puck free to Reinhart. Perhaps Pickard's biggest save of the night came early in the second period when he stopped Lundell on a breakaway after defenseman Jake Walman turned the puck over in his own zone. If Pickard doesn't make that save, the Panthers take a 4-1 lead and perhaps Game 4 is put out of reach.
With Thursday's win, Pickard became the first Oilers goaltender to start a postseason with a 7-0 record since Grant Fuhr in 1985. Pickard hadn't played more than one period since recording a win in Game 2 of Edmonton's second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. It feels safe to assume Pickard will be manning the crease in Game 5.
Big game Draisaitl
Edmonton's dynamic duo of Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were held without a point in Game 3. It was the first time that both players were pointless in a game during this playoff run. However, Draisaitl bounced back in grand fashion when the Oilers desperately needed a victory on Thursday.
Draisaitl recorded a goal and two assists with his biggest play of the night coming when the lights were the brightest. The Oilers had scratched and clawed to take a 4-3 lead late in the third period, so it had to be massively deflating when the Panthers forced overtime in the final seconds.
With the Panthers having their fair share of scoring chances in overtime, Draisaitl just needed a sliver of space to pay homage to Taylor Swift, who was in attendance, and call "End Game." Draisaitl used his strength to barrel his way into the face-off circle and send a backhanded shot that ended up getting past Bobrovsky. Obviously, Draisaitl benefitted from Mikkola's skate helping the puck to change directions, but Draisaitl's power forward mindset truly made that goal possible.
Now Draisaitl has four goals in the series, including a two-goal performance in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1.
Tkachuk just makes winning plays
In a game where the Panthers possessed a three-goal advantage, it's hard for the losing side to take positive from a performance that ends in such a manner. Still, Tkachuk has no reason to lay his head down in shame after producing a superhuman effort in Game 4.
Tkachuk racked up two goals and an assist to pace Florida's offensive group. It's such a cliche to utter the phrase, "big players make big plays," but that simply is the truth when it comes to Tkachuk. On his second first-period goal, Tkachuk simply never quite out of the play in front of the net. Reinhart ripped a shot from the slot that Skinner was able to stop, but he couldn't control the rebound. Tkachuk was waiting, and put the loose puck into the back of the net to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
It was more of the same from Tkachuk in the final seconds when Florida had to have a goal. In front of the net, Tkachuk was able to deflect the puck over to Reinhart, who scored on side-angle shot to tie the game. Tkachuk just puts himself in the right areas on the ice when his team is in need of a big play. Whether it's putting a shot on net or laying the body on a big hit, Tkachuk does whatever needs to done when the game is on the line.
