Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl scores in overtime to even Stanley Cup Final series
SUNRISE, Fla. – The Edmonton Oilers survived what would have been a devastating loss Thursday night after Sam Reinhart initially ruined an epic comeback from three goals down by sending Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to overtime with 19.5 seconds left.
But at 11:18 of overtime, Leon Draisaitl scored the winning goal in an epic 5-4 Oilers win at Amerant Bank Arena to even the series at 2 wins apiece with the possibility of two games in Edmonton, Alberta, starting Saturday night. It was his fourth career overtime playoff goal.
Reinhart’s goal came after Jake Walman gave Edmonton a 4-3 lead with 6:24 left with a one-timer.
For the second game in a row, Calvin Pickard came in relief of Stuart Skinner. He made 23 saves and improved to 7-0 in the playoffs this postseason.
The Oilers became the seventh team in NHL history and first since the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes (Game 1) to overcome a three-goal deficit in the Stanley Cup Final to win. It was the first time a team has done so on the road since the Montreal Canadiens in 1919 (Game 3).
It was the sixth time in franchise history that the Oilers rallied from three goals down to win a playoff game.
One game after the Oilers took four first-period penalties, they took three Thursday night with Matthew Tkachuk scoring a pair of power-play goals before Anton Lundell added a goal for good measure.
But in the second period, it was Florida that paraded to the penalty box with three minors to turn the momentum.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins triggered the comeback with an early second-period power-play goal. Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin then beat Sergei Bobrovsky twice in 2:18 to stun the Panthers and their fans.
Reinhart’s goal came after he initially passed to Tkachuk. But the Panthers forward couldn’t handle the pass and the puck bounced right back to Reinhart for the tying goal. This series boasts the two latest tying goals in Stanley Cup Final history after Corey Perry scored in Game 2 with 17.8 seconds left.
This marks the eighth Stanley Cup Final – and fourth in the expansion era (since 1967-68) – to have three or more games require overtime. The others: 2014 (three), 2013 (three), 1993 (three), 1951 (five), 1950 (three), 1946 (three) and 1940 (three).
Draisaitl had two assists in addition to his goal and became the fifth player in NHL history to record 30 points in consecutive postseasons, joining Connor McDavid (2024-2025), Nikita Kucherov (2020-2021), Mario Lemieux (1991-1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1987-1988 and 1983-1985). The German-born forward became the first European-born player to record three playoff years of 30 or more points. The only other players in NHL history with as many postseasons are Gretzky (six times), McDavid (three) and Mark Messier (three).
Draisaitl also became the second player in NHL history to record 10 goals and 20 assists in multiple postseasons. Gretzky did so five times.
Walman’s goal came one game after he was fined $10,000 for squirting a water bottle into Florida’s bench and later roughing Tkachuk.
This was the third time in Stanley Cup Final history that teams have combined for seven-plus goals in each of the first four games of the series.
Here are some takeaways from Thursday night:
Mr. Game 4 no more, but Pickard saves day
Skinner’s stats in the fourth game of a series coming into Thursday night 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 goals came off Tkachuk’s stick while the Oilers were short-handed. The last of the three goals, by Lundell with 42 seconds in the period remaining, effectively ended Skinner’s night. 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.
Comeback kids vs. ultimate closers
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.
Edmonton’s three-goal comeback in Game 4 followed an overtime win in Game 1 when 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.”