The Edmonton Oilers pulled off a stunning comeback to beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in overtime Thursday night, tying the Stanley Cup Final at two games each after trailing 3-0 in the first period.
Leon Draisaitl scored his NHL playoff-record fourth overtime goal at 11:18 of the extra session. The win marked the first time a road team has rallied from three goals down to win a Stanley Cup Final game since the Montreal Canadiens did it against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919.
“We’re a resilient group,” said Draisaitl, who also won Game 1 in overtime. “We’re never going to quit no matter what. We’ll take it and go home.”
The comeback started after Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch pulled starter Stuart Skinner following the first period. Skinner had allowed three goals on 17 shots as the Panthers dominated early.
Calvin Pickard entered in relief and stopped the first 18 shots he faced. The journeyman backup had won all six of his playoff starts this season before getting injured.
“Games like that, it’s exhausting — it’s a roller coaster,” Knoblauch said. “Two good teams playing as hard as they are, playing the right way. Obviously with what’s on the line, it’s stressful. There’s a lot on the line, but it is fun and I think our guys are having fun, enjoying this moment.”
The Panthers jumped ahead early on two goals from Matthew Tkachuk and another from Anton Lundell with 41.7 seconds left in the first period.
Edmonton answered in the second period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin all scored to tie the game 3-3 heading into the third.
Jake Walman put the Oilers ahead with six minutes left in regulation. But Sam Reinhart tied it for Florida with just 19.5 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
The series returns to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday night. Only six teams in Stanley Cup Final history have successfully rallied from a three-goal deficit, with the last occurring in 2006.
“Better than it could have been, but obviously a long way to go,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who scored Edmonton’s first goal. “We’re just excited to get back home and play in front of our fans, and Saturday night is going to be pretty fun.”
This marks the first Stanley Cup Final since 2013 with three of the first four games requiring overtime. It’s only the fifth Final series in NHL history to reach that milestone.
“There were chances everywhere,” Tkachuk said. “Both teams had good looks. I mean, one of their players it hits off a skate and hits the post. We got lucky there. It’s a game of inches.”
The Oilers avoided falling into a 3-1 series deficit, which would have put them on the brink of losing in the Final for the second straight year.
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