NEVER SAY NEVER.
After a historic Edmonton Oilers 5-4 victory, the Stanley Cup Final is deadlocked at two games a piece heading back to Edmonton for Game 5.
“We wanted to come out strong tonight, but they put us on our heels early,” said Leon Draisaitl post game.
“We were lollygagging around a little bit, and it’s certainly not the time to lollygag around, especially after getting spanked in Game 3.”
So, how did Game 4 unravel?
The first period was all Panthers. The Cats took a demanding 3-0 lead. Matthew Tkachuk netted a pair of powerplay goals, Anton Lundell potted the third.
The second period was all Oilers. Backup Calvin Pickard would replace Stuart Skinner and Edmonton would rally back and tie the game 3-3. The goal scorers were Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the powerplay, Darnell Nurse, and Vasily Podkolzin.
Period three would, understandably, be very, very tactical. Neither team wanted to make the first mistake knowing that could be the difference.
With just over six minutes to play, Jake Walman would blast one past Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead. Just as we thought the game was over, Sam Reinhart would find the back of the net with 19.5 seconds remaining.
Reinhart’s goal would be the second latest game tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history. The latest? Corey Perry’s equalizer in Game 2, with 18 seconds remaining.
For the third time in four games, we have overtime. In overtime, Carter Verhaege was inches away from giving the Panthers a 3-1 series lead when his one timer went off the crossbar.
Moments later, Leon Draisaitl would score his second overtime goal of the series and fourth of these playoffs, a new NHL single postseason record.
The goal wasn’t flashy, but ugly goals are worth just as much as the pretty ones. Draisaitl, with one hand on his stick, was trying to throw the puck in the nets direction and a fortunate bounce off of Cats defenseman, Nikko Mikkola, redirected the puck between Bobs legs.
When you throw pucks on net, good things happen. In a game that was as back and forth as ping-pong, what was the turning point?
For Solon Mihas, it was Lundell’s goal that put the Panthers up, 3-0. Without that goal, late in the first period, Mihas doesn’t think Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch makes the goaltending switch he did.
“What I noticed was a bunch of leaders we have in this room. We came in, Perry gave us a little speech, and a couple of other guys spoke up,” said Walman.
Game 4 Stanley Cup Final Preview And What's At Stake Game 3 was nothing like the first two in Edmonton. We went from consecutive overtime games to a dominant, 6-1, Florida beatdown.
“Just the quiet confidence we have in our room even down 3-0, to turn that game around shows a lot about our group. I don’t think we’re ever out of a game.”
Tonight’s X-Factor? Backup goalie, Calvin Pickard.
Before the game there was a question of who will be in net for the Oilers. The answer was NOT Pickard.
After taking over for Skinner to start the middle frame, Pickard saved 22 of 23 shots he faced, improving his personal playoff record to 7-0.
Without Pickard, who knows what happens after the first 20 minutes.
“I have confidence in him (Pickard) because you look at his record… he’s been doing a lot of winning,” Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said post game. Each team has both positives and negatives to take out of this game, but Panthers Matthew Tkachuk chooses to focus on the plus.
“Take our first period, take our third period, beginning of overtime. I thought we did a lot of good things.”
Aside from being eventful, this series has been historic.
The Oilers became just the first team in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup Final game when trailing 3-0 after the first period.
Prior to tonight, teams in the Panthers position were 37-0. After tonight? 37-1.
This series has gone from a best-of-seven, to a best-of-five, and now, a best-of-three heading into Game 5.
The series heads to Alberta with a chance to advance one step closer to the games ultimate prize.