The Edmonton Oilers kept their Stanley Cup hopes alive with a resounding 8-1 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Facing elimination, the Oilers delivered a dominant performance, chasing Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky from the net. “Everyone is human,” Oilers winger Zach Hyman said. “You have to keep going, have to keep getting your looks and eventually something is going to go in. Obviously, we got good looks tonight and were able to beat him. We have to do it again.”
The game featured standout performances from several Oilers players. Mattias Janmark (1-1-2), Adam Henrique (1-0-1), and Connor Brown (0-1-1) were terrific, while Dylan Holloway contributed with two goals and an assist. Connor McDavid led the charge with a four-point night (1-3-4), setting an NHL record with 32 assists in a single playoff season. McDavid’s first goal of the Stanley Cup Final highlighted his stellar performance, bringing his total points for the game to four.
“We have to go to Florida, do a job, and drag them back to Alberta,” said McDavid. Leon Draisaitl added, “We did our job on the offensive side tonight, but obviously, it’s just one win for us.”
The Oilers overcame a rough start when Darnell Nurse was penalized for a knee-on-knee hit on Sam Bennett. Despite this, Edmonton opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal from Janmark during the Panthers’ power play.
Oilers Still Have Some Work to Do in the Stanley Cup Final
Stuart Skinner stopped 32 of 33 shots. The focus won’t be on Skinner when the Oilers scored 8 goals, but Skinner stopped some Grade A chances to keep Edmonton in the game early. The Carter Verhague 2-on-1 stop was key. He’ll need to be solid again in Game 5.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov acknowledged the loss, saying, “It only counts as one win. It doesn’t matter how much you lose (by), 2-1 or 8-1, or you win 2-1 or 8-1. We need to bounce back and recover now and think about the next one.”
The Oilers’ victory leaves them trailing 3-1 in the series, but with renewed hope. Game 5 is set for Tuesday night in South Florida, where the Oilers will aim to extend the series further.
Next: Oilers Long-Term Deals Set for Draisaitl, McDavid, Bouchard [Report]
