The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers, 5-4 in overtime, on Thursday. The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is tied at two wins apiece. Leon Draisaitl (11th goal and 32nd point of the playoffs) scored his second OT goal of the series at 11:18 of sudden death to cap off a comeback from a 3-0 deficit entering the second period. Three of the four games have gone overtime.
In the opening periods, a pair of power play goals by Matthew Tkachuk (6th and 7th) built a 2-0 lead. In the final minute of the frame, Anton Lundell (6th) forged a three-goal lead. Consequently, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch replaced starting goalie Stuart Skinner (three goals on 17 shots) with Calvin Pickard at the start of the second period.
Over the first three games, the Panthers dominated second periods. On Thursday, Pickard (21 saves on 22 shots overall) and the Oilers flipped to script. In so doing, Edmonton potentially saved the series. They certainly flipped the script of Game Four.
Second period goals by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (PPG, 6th), Darnell Nurse (3rd) and Vasily Podkolzin (2nd) turned a 3-0 deficit into a 3-3 deadlock. Suddenly, Sergei Bobrovsky (three goals on 17 shots in the second period, five goals on 35 shots overall) looked mortal again for the first time since Game Two.
Jake Walman (2nd) gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead at 13:36 of the third period. In a reversal of Game Two, the Panthers scored a 6-on-5 goal in the final minute of regulation. Assisted by Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart (6th) forced overtime at 19:40. In sudden death, the two teams evenly split four shots apiece. Finally, at 11:18, Draisaitl scored the game-winning goal.
The Panthers went 2-for-4 on the power play. The Oilers were 1-for-4.
