Draisaitl Scores in OT, Oilers Beat Panthers in Cup Final Game 4

SUNRISE — Everything was coming up roses for the Florida Panthers against the visiting Edmonton Oilers in the first period of Game 4 in the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night.

Then came the second.

After taking a three-goal lead in the opening 20, the Panthers gave up three in the second and needed a goal from Sam Reinhart with 19.5 seconds remaining to force overtime.

The magic ended there for the Panthers, with Edmonton winning 5-4 after Leon Draisaitl in overtime.

This is now a best-of-3 series with two of the games coming in Edmonton — including Game 5 on Saturday night.

Matthew Tkachuk got things going for the Panthers at 11:40 of the first period, scoring 4 seconds into Florida’s 5-on-3 power play by sending a wrister from the left circle off the faceoff.

The Panthers got another power play at 15:18 — and, again, it was Tkachuk, this time cleaning up a rebound from in front of the net.

Florida seemingly took complete control of the game with 41.7 seconds left in the first, Anton Lundell scoring off a great play from Carter Verhaeghe — who was all over the ice for the Panthers.

Down 3-0 after 1 — Florida was outshooting the Oilers 17-7, and had a 34-15 advantage in shot attempts — Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner and put in Calvin Pickard.

Turns out that was the move of the day.

Pickard stopped all 10 shots he faced in the second with the Oilers chipping away and getting three goals off 17 shots in the period to tie it up going into the third.

Tkachuk had a sure hat trick thwarted in the second period, his point-blank shot going off the knee of Mattias Ekholm. Had Tkachuk scored there, Florida would have taken a 4-3 lead into the third.

Instead, it was Edmonton defenseman Jake Walman who made it 4-3 with 6:24 remaining.

Florida kept coming, pulling Sergei Bobrovsky in the final seconds for the extra attacker.

Edmonton’s Brett Kulak failed to clear the puck along the halfwall and Sam Bennett got to it. Bennett rolled out and found Tkachuk in the slot; he softly worked the puck to Reinhart to score.

Both teams had numerous chances to score in the overtime, with Bennett hitting the crossbar moments before Draisaitl got the winner.

CUP FINAL GAME 4: OILERS / PANTHERS

• There were a number of celebrities in the house Thursday night, including Jason Taylor and Jaromir Jagr.
• Who else did you think we meant?
• Reinhart’s goal was the second-latest game-tying goal in Final history, just a few seconds behind Corey Perry who tied up Game 2.
• No other Stanley Cup Final has had two games tied up in the final 20 seconds of a third period to force OT.
• This is the third Stanley Cup Final to have teams combine for seven-plus goals in each of the first four games of the series. The other two were in 1980 and 1918.
• Tkachuk scored two power play goals, extending Florida’s postseason franchise record to 20.
• With five goals in the Final, Tkachuk tied Evan Rodrigues for second-most in franchise history; Sam Bennett has six.

HOW THEY SCORED: OILERS / PANTHERS

• Florida 1, Edmonton 0 (11:40 1st 5/3 PP): 4 seconds into a 5-on-3 with Darnell Nurse and Evander Kane in the box, Matthew Tkachuk rips a wrist shot off the faceoff from the left circle.
• Florida 2, Edmonton 0 (16:56 1st PP): Tkachuk gets his second of the night, finding a loose puck by the front of the net and firing it past Stuart Skinner.
• Florida 3, Edmonton 0 (19:18 1st): Carter Verhaeghe brings the hard forecheck to get the puck from the end boards, then feeds a streaking Anton Lundell.
• Florida 3, Edmonton 1 (3:33 2nd PP): Ryan Nugent-Hopkins laces one past Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Oilers some life.
• Florida 3, Edmonton 2 (12:47 2nd): Nurse pulls the Oilers within a goal with a sharp-angled shot from the left circle.
• Edmonton 3, Florida 3 (15:05 3rd): Vasily Podkolzin finds a loose puck in the slot and sends it toward the net — and good things happened.
• Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (13:36 3rd): Sasha Barkov turned the puck over in the offensive zone, and Jake Walman found himself all alone in the right circle and one-times a pass from Kasperi Kapanen past Bobrovsky for Edmonton’s first lead of the night.
• Florida 4, Edmonton 4 (19:40 3rd): Edmonton fails to clear the puck down low and Tkachuk finds Sam Reinhart for a backhanded shot that slips through traffic and Calvin Pickard to tie it up in the final seconds.
• Edmonton 5, Florida 4 (11:18 OT): Leon Draisaitl sends this series back to Edmonton tied at 2.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Calvin Pickard, Edmonton
• 2. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton
• 3. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida

2025 STANLEY CUP FINAL

GAME 5

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ EDMONTON OILERS

Best-of-7 Series Tied 2-2

• When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton
• National TV: TNT/truTV 
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys), SiriusXM
• Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games at 8 p.m., TNT) — Game 1: @Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT); Game 2: Florida 5, @Edmonton 4 (2OT); Game 3: @Florida 6, Edmonton 1; Game 4: Edmonton 5, @Florida 4 (OT); Game 5: @Edmonton Saturday; Game 6: @Florida Tuesday; Game 7*: @Edmonton, Friday June 20.
• How They Got Here: Edmonton d. Los Angeles (6), Vegas (5), Dallas (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7), Carolina (5)
• Postseason History: Florida Won 2024 Stanley Cup Final 4-3
• Regular Season: Panthers won 2-0
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-18-0, 3 ties