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Florida takes a 3-2 lead in the series and can clinch their second straight title at home on Tuesday Imagn Images Getty Images
We've played four games in this series and already had three go to overtime, which is tied for the second-most OT games in Stanley Cup Final history. This series is one of five in history to feature three OT games within the first four contests, along with: 1951, Maple Leafs-Canadiens in all five games of the series
2013, Blackhawks-Bruins in Games 1, 2 and 4
1993, Canadiens-Kings in Games 2, 3 and 4
1946, Canadiens-Bruins in Games 1, 2 and 4 Getty Images
With 32 total goals so far, this is the fourth-highest-scoring Stanley Cup Final through four games in league history, and the highest-scoring in 44 years. The three series that have had more goals at this stage: 36 goals in 1918, Toronto Arenas vs. Vancouver Millionaires
36 goals in 1981, Islanders vs. North Stars
33 goals in 1980, Islanders vs. Flyers
Anytime you're mentioning the Vancouver Millionaires, you know you're looking at some pretty old history! Getty Images
There are games in the history of the Stanley Cup Final that are not easily forgotten.
If the Edmonton Oilers go on to win two more games and end Canada's 32-year Cup drought, everyone will remember where they were on June 12, 2025.
What a freaking game.
A 3-0 Florida Panthers lead after the first period. A timely Edmonton goalie switch. Four consecutive goals by the Oilers. Sam Reinhart ties it with 19.5 seconds left, throwing more adversity at Edmonton. And finally, in the magical moment, it was lead-by-example Leon Draisaitl winning it 11:18 into overtime.
Bonkers.
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Oilers' Game 4 comeback could be the stuff of legend on their path to Stanley Cup Getty Images
Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell picked up a loose puck off a turnover in the high slot and barrelled towards the net with a chance to make a big lead surely insurmountable. A goal here and the game, and maybe even the Stanley Cup Final, might be over.
This was Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard's big moment, maybe the most important moment of his career.
Having faced just two shots after replacing teammate Stuart Skinner, who was pulled after a disastrous first period by the Oilers, Pickard was being thrown into the deep end.
He was up to the task.
Pickard turned aside Lundell with his blocker at 11:24 of the second period to keep his team down two goals and within striking distance. Cue the season-saving comeback.
The Oilers evened the Final with a 5-4 victory in Game 4 on Thursday, courtesy of Leon Draisaitl's fourth overtime winner – an NHL record – at 11:18 of the extra frame. They wouldn't even have had a chance to do so without Pickard's heroics, starting with that massive stop on Lundell.
Read more on Pickard below.
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Calvin Pickard, saving pucks and playoff runs alike, comes to Oilers' rescue yet again Getty Images
Leon Draisaitl is the first player in NHL history to score four overtime goals in a single postseason: Game 4 of first round vs. Kings
Game 2 of second round vs. Golden Knights
Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final
Was Thursday the night that repeating as Stanley Cup champions got away from the Florida Panthers?
That will be the big question the Panthers will have to answer over the next week after coughing up a three-goal lead in Game 4 and seeing what could have been a 3-1 series lead in this magnificent battle with the Edmonton Oilers become a best-of-three for all the marbles.
Read more on the Panthers below.
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Can the Panthers shake it off after blowing a 3-0 lead in Game 4? Getty Images
Was it a pass? Was it a shot? The world may never know.
One thing is for certain: it was a goal and an Edmonton Oilers win in Game 4. Getty Images
Leon Draisaitl is just the third player in NHL history to score multiple overtime goals in a single Stanley Cup Final.
Here's the full list: Don "Bones" Raleigh, 1950 (Games 4 and 5 for New York Rangers)
John LeClair, 1993 (Games 3 and 4 for Montreal Canadiens)
Leon Draisaitl, 2025 (Games 1 and 4 for Edmonton Oilers)
In Game 4, Calvin Pickard became just the sixth goaltender in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup Final game in relief.
He joined Andrei Vasilevskiy (2015, Lightning), Frank Pietrangelo (1991, Penguins), Roger Crozier (1975, Sabres), Gord Henry (1953, Bruins) and Lester Patrick (1928, Rangers).
After their heroics in Game 4, the Oilers became the seventh team in Stanley Cup Final history to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a game.
The previous teams to achieve this incredible feat: Hurricanes in 2006 (Game 1), Penguins in 1992 (Game 1), Flyers in 1987 (Game 3), Canadiens in 1944 (Game 4), Maple Leafs in 1936 (Game 3) and Canadiens in 1919 (Game 5). Getty Images
The legend of Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton is getting bigger and bigger.
His Game 1 heroics were well documented and he added to his playoff lore in Game 4, slotting in the game winner in overtime, not to mention a pair of assists to help power his team's comeback.
Draisaitl now has 32 points this postseason, tied with Connor McDavid for the most in the league. Getty Images
Similar to Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart was critical in a strong opening period for the Panthers. He assisted on Tkachuk's second goal of Game 4 and just over two minutes later, he created Anton Lundell's goal that made it a 3-0 game.
Then, with 20 seconds left to play in regulation and the Panthers trailing 4-3, Reinhart found a window of space and wristed the game-tying goal into the back of the net to force overtime.
Unfortunately for Reinhart and Florida, Leon Draisaitl struck again in OT. Getty Images
Remember the first period of Game 4? Feels like forever ago now.
Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals in a six-minute span late in the period, both coming on the power play.
He also had the primary assist on Sam Reinhart's game-tying goal with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Getty Images
Stuart Skinner's stats in the fourth game of a series going into Game 4 weren't just good; they were incredible. The Oilers goalie had a 6-0 record in such contests with a 1.26 goals-against average, a .955 save percentage and two shutouts. He's been even better in the most recent four of those appearances with a 0.83 GAA and a .970 save percentage.
That run of excellence came to an end.
Skinner surrendered three goals on 17 shots in the first period while the Oilers were bombarded by the Panthers. Two of those tallies came off Tkachuk's stick while the Oilers were shorthanded. The last of the three goals, by Lundell with 42 seconds in the period remaining, effectively ended Skinner's night. Calvin Pickard replaced him to start the second period and made 23 saves in relief. He was a difference-maker.
Pickard's most notable save of the night was a stop on Lundell on an abbreviated breakaway at 11:24 after a turnover by Jake Walman to pave the way for the comeback.
There were question marks leading into this game about which goalie should get the start. There's little doubt who's getting the call for Game 5. Getty Images
Two seemingly undeniable forces are wrestling for control of this series.
The Panthers entered the Stanley Cup Final with a 31-0 record in the playoffs under head coach Paul Maurice in games where they held a lead after either the first or second period. They've seen that mark drop to 33-2 after holding a lead at an intermission in all four games played against the Oilers so far.
Edmonton's three-goal comeback in Game 4 followed an overtime win in Game 1 where it overcame a 3-1 deficit during the second period. That was the same frame where the Oilers found life on Thursday to set up Draisaitl's heroics.
It was the eighth comeback victory for the Oilers during this playoff run, matching the franchise records set in 1987 and 1991. Their resiliency has become a point of pride inside the dressing room – whether in-game or after a tough loss like the 6-1 waxing they took in Game 3.
'It's all experience, right?' said Draisaitl. 'Like you go through this run last year where we were under pressure for a lot of games, even in the Vancouver series, you go back to that, right? You just get comfortable in those situations knowing that you play one good game, you find a way to get a win on the road, and you go home and the series is tied. That's really all it is.
'We know it's going to be hard. They've got the same plan over there. But I think with experience, you just learn that in these moments, all you need is one game right now.' Getty Images
Matthew Tkachuk, who was hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off and missed the rest of the regular season, got off to a terrific start in his playoff debut with two goals and an assist in Game 1 in Tampa Bay. Production-wise, at least, he hadn't been as prolific since.
But in Game 4, Tkachuk notched his fifth career two-goal game in the playoffs with Florida's first two goals in a three-goal first.
Tkachuk missed a chance for a hat trick late in the second when Pickard was well out of his net, but Mattias Ekholm and Nugent-Hopkins saved what would have been a go-ahead goal by combining for the blocked shot.
Tkachuk later had an assist on Reinhart's game-tying goal to force overtime. Getty Images
Penalties were an issue for the Oilers in the first period of Game 3. That was the case again in Game 4.
The Oilers gifted the Panthers three power plays in the opening frame, a game after giving them four in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers made them pay for their indiscretions.
Evander Kane took his third first-period penalty in the last two games, this time for high-sticking A.J. Greer. Nurse followed that up by tripping Aleksander Barkov. Tkachuk scored on the two-man advantage. (Kane's penalty led to him getting benched for most of the rest of the period and then starting the second on the fourth line.)
Later, Mattias Ekholm was sent off for high-sticking Brad Marchand, and Tkachuk scored again.
The Oilers' penalty kill has been an issue for most of these playoffs and has now allowed seven goals against on 21 Panthers power plays in the series. They just can't keep taking penalties because they can't kill enough of them off. Getty Images
The Edmonton Oilers won Game 4 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final 5-4 thanks to an overtime goal by Leon Draisaitl, tying the series at two games apiece.
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, but a goalie change and some timely power plays helped the Oilers mount a stunning second-period rally to tie the game. Jake Walman gave Edmonton its first lead of the game with 6:24 remaining in the third, but Sam Reinhart forced overtime with 20 seconds left after Florida had pulled Sergei Bobrovsky. That set the stage for Draisaitl's heroics with a miracle one-handed shot that took a major deflection off Niko Mikkola to skip past Bobrovsky.
Draisaitl, who also scored the overtime winner in Game 1, becomes just the third player in NHL history with multiple OT goals in a single Stanley Cup Final. The Athletic
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