Sergei Bobrovsky Pulled in Blowout of Game 4 in Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON — For the first time all postseason, Sergei Bobrovsky got run out of the building.

With the Edmonton Oilers firing on all cylinders in an 8-1 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, they forced Florida to make a goalie change less than five minutes into the second period.

Bobrovsky gave up five goals on 16 shots with the Oilers bursting past the Panthers for one rush chance after another.

When Darnell Nurse beat him with a shot from the slot off of a quick drop pass by Connor McDavid 4:59 into the second period, Paul Maurice figured that was that.

“He’d had enough. If you think you’re mounting a comeback, rarely does the goalie make a difference for you,” Maurice said.

“There’s something that happens at the other end of the ice. He’s played an awful lot of hockey. My number on Bob is probably five in general. That was the decision.”

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Coming into the game, Bobrovsky was the odds-on favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy if Florida wins this series — of which it still holds a commanding 3-1 lead with Game 5 in Sunrise on Tuesday night.

Bobrovsky had a .953 save percentage, a 1.33 goals-against average and a shutout in the first three games of the series.

Eventually, the dam was going to break when he was facing so many high-danger chances as was the case in Game 4.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s been unbelievable all year, all playoffs. That was more of a wake-up call to the forwards and the D as opposed to (him),” Matthew Tkachuk said.

“It had nothing to do with Bob. It was more of a wake-up call to everybody. We know he’s going to come back better than ever and with that being said, none of them were his fault. I still thought he made some unreal saves. Everybody’s going to come back ready to go on whatever day we play next, game 5 at home.”

Anthony Stolarz stopped 16 of 19 shots in relief while behind a similarly shaky Florida defense.

Again, Stolarz came in down 5-1 and the game was all but decided.

“He was good,’’ Maurice said of Stolarz. “The guy’s watched a lot of hockey for a while. That’s what you need. He comes in and he’s going to battle his butt off. It was great for him to get in. There are not a lot of silver linings here, people, but Bob got some rest. I’ll take that.”

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2024 STANLEY CUP FINAL

EDMONTON OILERS VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS 

GAME 5

Panthers Lead Best of 7 Series 3-1

• When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: ABC
• Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• Series Schedule, All Games 8 p.m. on ABC — Game 1: @Florida 3, Edmonton 0; Game 2: @Florida 4, Edmonton 1; Game 3: Florida 4, @Edmonton 3; Game 4: @Edmonton 8, Florida 1; Game 5: Edmonton at Florida, Tuesday; Game 6*: Florida at Edmonton, Friday; Game 7*:Edmonton at Florida, Monday June 24. (*) – If Necessary
• How They Got Here — Florida: d. Tampa Bay 4-1, Boston 4-2, New York Rangers 4-2; Edmonton: d. Los Angeles 4-1, Vancouver 4-3, Dallas 4-2.
• This Season (Florida Won 2-0) — At Florida: Panthers 5, Oilers 3 (Nov. 20). At Edmonton: Panthers 5, Oilers 2 (Dec. 17).
• Last Season: Edmonton Won 2-0
  
• All-time Regular Season Series: Oilers lead 23-16-0, 3 ties
• Postseason History: First Meeting