Leon Draisaitl scores in OT again as Oilers beat Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 to tie Stanley Cup Final
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates after his winning goal against the Florida Panthers with Evan Bouchard (2), Vasily Podkolzin (92) and Mattias Ekholm (14) during the first overtime period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
ice hockey
By STEPHEN WHYNO
Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back after allowing the late tying goal.
Jake Walman gave the Oilers their first lead with 6:24 left in the third period, before Sam Reinhart scored with 19.5 seconds left to send it to overtime. Three of the first four games of this final have needed extra time to be settled, the first time that has happened since 2013 and fifth time in NHL history.
Draisaitl's goal 11:18 into OT — the fourth session of extra hockey between these teams — sent the series back to Western Canada all even. Game 5 of what's turning into a classic back-and-forth series between two hockey heavyweights is Saturday night in Edmonton.
'It's obviously a fortunate bounce. No secret about it. We'll take it,' Draisaitl said.
'We're a resilient group. We're never going to quit no matter what. We'll take it and go home,' he added. "Our first isn't what we wanted and then we started to get our legs. ... That's the intensity we have to play with when the puck drops.'
Draisaitl set an NHL playoff record with his fourth overtime goal in one postseason, breaking a tie he shared with four players including Florida's Matthew Tkachuk in 2023, current teammate Corey Perry, who did so with Anaheim in 2017, and Maurice Richard (1951). It was his second goal of this series, joining Montreal's John LeClair, who scored two OT goals in the Canadiens win over Los Angeles in 1993, and New York Rangers Don Raleigh in 1950.
The Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919. Only six teams have come back from down three in the final in NHL history, the last time in 2006.
Edmonton is very much in it now, even after it looked like it would be blown out of the series. The Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first period on a pair of goals by Matthew Tkachuk and another with 41.7 seconds left from Anton Lundell, which could have been a back-breaker.
Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner after his starter allowed those three goals on 17 shots in the first, when the ice was tilted against him and his teammates did not have much of a pushback. In went Calvin Pickard, the journeyman backup who won all six of his starts this playoffs before getting injured.
Pickard made some acrobatic saves, stopping the first 18 shots he faced and paving the way for a once-in-a-century comeback. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on Edmonton's first power play, Darnell Nurse beat Sergei Bobrovsky with another shot up high and Vasily Podkolzin made it 3-all with less than five minutes left in the second.
With Draisaitl in the penalty box to start the third, Oilers were on their heels for several minutes and relied on Pickard to keep the score tied. He turned aside every shot he faced until Walman fired the puck past Bobrovsky to silence a vast majority of the crowd and incite a roar out of the Edmonton fans among those in attendance along with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Panthers fans had one more chance to cheer when Reinhart tied it late. Then Draisaitl quieted them again.
With Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist also in the building, the Oilers made sure they would not go quietly and fall behind 3-1 in the final like they did last year. They forced Game 7 then but ultimately fell short, with Florida winning the Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Now each of these teams is a couple of victories away from being champions.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Oilers rally to win Game 4 in overtime to get even in Stanley Cup Final
Leon Draisaitl scored another overtime goal. The Edmonton Oilers completed another comeback. The end result is an even Stanley Cup Final thanks to the Oilers' 5-4 overtime victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday in Sunrise, Florida. Draisaitl capped a three-point outing with his NHL-record fourth overtime winner of the playoffs — and his second of the finals — thanks to a one-handed pass attempt that banked in off a defender. The best-of-seven series returns to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday tied at two wins apiece. Three of the four games have gone to overtime in the rematch of last year's title series, which Florida won in seven games. Edmonton is the first team in Stanley Cup Final history to win after trailing 3-0 through the first period. Clubs in that situation had been 0-37. "We believe no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we're going to keep pushing, gonna keep coming and eventually, it'll break," said Draisaitl, who joined Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history to record 10 goals and 20 assists in multiple playoff runs. Draisaitl, who won Game 1 in overtime, is the third player in NHL history with multiple OT goals in a Stanley Cup Final. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin all collected one goal and one assist for the Oilers, who turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead before watching that edge disappear in the dying seconds of regulation. Jake Walman also scored. Goaltender Calvin Pickard stopped 22 of 23 shots after taking the net following the first period. Starting netminder Stuart Skinner surrendered three goals on 17 shots in the opening frame before being pulled for the second consecutive game. Pickard has a perfect 7-0 record in the playoffs. He saved Edmonton's first-round series before suffering an injury, but he delivered once again when his team needed him most. "Unbelievable to be able to step into a game like that," Nugent-Hopkins said. "He made some huge saves, really tough saves, clutch saves." Matthew Tkachuk scored twice in a three-point outing while Sam Reinhart had a goal in a three-point game for Florida, which had a golden chance to take a stranglehold on the series. Anton Lundell also scored. Aleksander Barkov had two assists, and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots. "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." The Panthers dominated the opening period. Tkachuk scored his first of the game — and of the series — at 11:40 when he buried a shot from the left circle during a five-on-three power play, then doubled the lead five minutes later with another man-advantage marker. Lundell made it a 3-0 affair with 41.7 seconds remaining in the period. The Oilers responded with their best period of the series in the second frame. Nugent-Hopkins began the comeback at 3:33 during a power play, Edmonton's ninth consecutive game with an extra-man goal, and Nurse made it a one-goal game at 12:47 of the second. Podkolzin tied the clash a couple of minutes later when he pounced on a loose puck during a flurry and found the mark. Walman gave Edmonton its first lead of the game at 13:36 of the third period, but Reinhart's goal with 19.5 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime yet again. Instead of building on their comeback, the Panthers must recover. "The result at the end (hurts), but what are you gonna do?" Tkachuk said. "The team that recovers the fastest will have the bigger advantage on Saturday. That's it."
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Leon Draisaitl scores in OT again as Oilers beat Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 to tie Stanley Cup Final
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates after his winning goal against the Florida Panthers with Evan Bouchard (2), Vasily Podkolzin (92) and Mattias Ekholm (14) during the first overtime period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) ice hockey By STEPHEN WHYNO Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime for the fourth time this playoffs, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night to tie the series, erasing a three-goal deficit and bouncing back after allowing the late tying goal. Jake Walman gave the Oilers their first lead with 6:24 left in the third period, before Sam Reinhart scored with 19.5 seconds left to send it to overtime. Three of the first four games of this final have needed extra time to be settled, the first time that has happened since 2013 and fifth time in NHL history. Draisaitl's goal 11:18 into OT — the fourth session of extra hockey between these teams — sent the series back to Western Canada all even. Game 5 of what's turning into a classic back-and-forth series between two hockey heavyweights is Saturday night in Edmonton. 'It's obviously a fortunate bounce. No secret about it. We'll take it,' Draisaitl said. 'We're a resilient group. We're never going to quit no matter what. We'll take it and go home,' he added. "Our first isn't what we wanted and then we started to get our legs. ... That's the intensity we have to play with when the puck drops.' Draisaitl set an NHL playoff record with his fourth overtime goal in one postseason, breaking a tie he shared with four players including Florida's Matthew Tkachuk in 2023, current teammate Corey Perry, who did so with Anaheim in 2017, and Maurice Richard (1951). It was his second goal of this series, joining Montreal's John LeClair, who scored two OT goals in the Canadiens win over Los Angeles in 1993, and New York Rangers Don Raleigh in 1950. The Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919. Only six teams have come back from down three in the final in NHL history, the last time in 2006. Edmonton is very much in it now, even after it looked like it would be blown out of the series. The Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first period on a pair of goals by Matthew Tkachuk and another with 41.7 seconds left from Anton Lundell, which could have been a back-breaker. Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner after his starter allowed those three goals on 17 shots in the first, when the ice was tilted against him and his teammates did not have much of a pushback. In went Calvin Pickard, the journeyman backup who won all six of his starts this playoffs before getting injured. Pickard made some acrobatic saves, stopping the first 18 shots he faced and paving the way for a once-in-a-century comeback. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on Edmonton's first power play, Darnell Nurse beat Sergei Bobrovsky with another shot up high and Vasily Podkolzin made it 3-all with less than five minutes left in the second. With Draisaitl in the penalty box to start the third, Oilers were on their heels for several minutes and relied on Pickard to keep the score tied. He turned aside every shot he faced until Walman fired the puck past Bobrovsky to silence a vast majority of the crowd and incite a roar out of the Edmonton fans among those in attendance along with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Panthers fans had one more chance to cheer when Reinhart tied it late. Then Draisaitl quieted them again. With Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lundqvist also in the building, the Oilers made sure they would not go quietly and fall behind 3-1 in the final like they did last year. They forced Game 7 then but ultimately fell short, with Florida winning the Cup for the first time in franchise history. Now each of these teams is a couple of victories away from being champions. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Times
4 days ago
- Japan Times
Panthers cruise to Game 3 win over Oilers
The Florida Panthers didn't pull any punches against the visiting Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. The Panthers scored in the opening minute and didn't let up in the scrappy, penalty-filled game, cruising to a 6-1 victory in Sunrise, Fla. The result gives the Panthers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading to Game 4 on Thursday night in Sunrise. Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist, Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett also scored, and Eetu Luostarinen had two assists for the Panthers, who are trying to become the third team to repeat as Stanley Cup champion in the past 10 years. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for Florida, which went 3-for-11 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. "We talk about being composed," Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "If you've got to take a punch in the face, a slash in the face, a cross-check, a slash in the leg, whatever the case is, you've got to it. There's a bigger picture with the win here for us. We just wanted to protect ourselves, protect our teammates when needed, but at the end of the day, you've got to be smart in a game like this, and I thought our team did that." Corey Perry scored for the Oilers, who are hoping to become the first franchise from Canada to win the Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. Stuart Skinner surrendered five goals on 23 shots before he was replaced early in the third period by Calvin Pickard, who finished with seven saves. "We didn't play very well. We have nobody to blame but ourselves," Edmonton left winger Evander Kane said. "We can definitely be a lot better." Marchand scored his fourth goal of the series 56 seconds into the game. The puck caromed to Marchand in the slot, and he brought it back to the inside edge of the right circle before scoring with a snap shot. Skinner was off balance in front of the crease when the puck hit the net to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Marchand, who turned 37 on May 11, is the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a Stanley Cup Final, and his 11 goals in the finals are tops among active players, one more than Perry. The teams combined for seven power plays in the opening period and the Panthers scored on the last. The Oilers left room for Verhaeghe to skate into the right circle and fired in a wrist shot for a 2-0 lead at 17:45. Edmonton was on a power play to start the second period when Perry converted a rebound to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 1:40. Florida answered 1:20 later when Reinhart shot the puck between the legs of Oilers defenseman John Klingberg from the left faceoff circle and past Skinner to re-establish the two-goal lead at 3-1. "We played like a solid, veteran, older team that's been here before," Tkachuk said. Bennett and Luostarinen then sprung loose on a two-on-none break and Bennett finished it off for his fourth goal of the series and 14th of the postseason to make it 4-1 at 7:26 of the middle period. Florida added another power-play goal at 3:27 of the third period to stretch the lead to 5-1. Ekblad took a feed from Reinhart and scored with a one-timer from the inside edge of the right circle, ending the night for Skinner. Rodrigues blasted in a one-timer during a five-on-three power play with 3:50 left to make it 6-1. The teams combined for 140 penalty minutes. "I mean, it's for the Stanley Cup, you know," Edmonton defenseman Jake Walman said. "There's not an inch out there. It's a grown man's game out there. That's not for the faint of heart. Guys are putting everything on the line."
