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The Edmonton Oilers have won Game 4 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final 5-4 thanks to an overtime goal by Leon Draisaitl, tying the series at two games apiece.
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, but a goalie change and some timely power plays helped the Oilers mount a stunning second-period rally to tie the game. Jake Walman gave Edmonton its first lead of the game with 6:24 remaining in the third, but Sam Reinhart forced overtime with 20 seconds left after Florida had pulled Sergei Bobrovsky. That set the stage for Draisaitl's heroics with a miracle one-handed shot that took a major deflection off Niko Mikkola to skip past Bobrovsky.
Draisaitl, who also scored the overtime winner in Game 1, becomes just the third player in NHL history with multiple OT goals in a single Stanley Cup Final.
Game 5 is in Edmonton on Saturday.
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Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl scores in overtime to even Stanley Cup Final series: Takeaways
Stuart Skinner’s stats in the fourth game of a series coming into Thursday night weren’t just good; they were incredible. The Oilers goalie had a 6-0 record in such contests with a 1.26 goals-against average, a .955 save percentage and two shutouts. He’s been even better in the most recent four of those appearances with a 0.83 GAA and a .970 save percentage.
That run of excellence came to an end.
Skinner surrendered three goals on 17 shots in the first period while the Oilers were bombarded by the Panthers. Two of those tallies came off Tkachuk’s stick while the Oilers were shorthanded. The last of the three goals, by Lundell with 42 seconds in the period remaining, effectively ended Skinner’s night. Calvin Pickard replaced him to start the second period and made 23 saves in relief. He was a difference-maker.
Pickard’s most notable save of the night was a stop on Lundell on an abbreviated breakaway at 11:24 after a turnover by Jake Walman to pave the way for the comeback.
There were question marks leading into this game about which goalie should get the start. There’s little doubt who’s getting the call for Game 5.
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Two seemingly undeniable forces are wrestling for control of this series.
The Panthers entered the Stanley Cup Final with a 31-0 record in the playoffs under head coach Paul Maurice in games where they held a lead after either the first or second period. They’ve seen that mark drop to 33-2 after holding a lead at an intermission in all four games played against the Oilers so far.
Edmonton’s three-goal comeback in Game 4 followed an overtime win in Game 1 where it overcame a 3-1 deficit during the second period. That was the same frame where the Oilers found life on Thursday to set up Draisaitl’s heroics.
It was the eighth comeback victory for the Oilers during this playoff run, matching the franchise records set in 1987 and 1991. Their resiliency has become a point of pride inside the dressing room – whether in-game or after a tough loss like the 6-1 waxing they took in Game 3.
“It’s all experience, right?” said Draisaitl. “Like you go through this run last year where we were under pressure for a lot of games, even in the Vancouver series, you go back to that, right? You just get comfortable in those situations knowing that you play one good game, you find a way to get a win on the road, and you go home and the series is tied. That’s really all it is.
“We know it’s going to be hard. They’ve got the same plan over there. But I think with experience, you just learn that in these moments, all you need is one game right now.”
Matthew Tkachuk, who was hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off and missed the rest of the regular season, got off to a terrific start in his playoff debut with two goals and an assist in Game 1 in Tampa Bay. Production-wise, at least, he hadn’t been as prolific since.
But in Game 4, Tkachuk notched his fifth career two-goal game in the playoffs with Florida’s first two goals in a three-goal first.
Tkachuk missed a chance for a hat trick late in the second when Pickard was well out of his net, but Mattias Ekholm and Nugent-Hopkins saved what would have been a go-ahead goal by combining for the blocked shot.
Tkachuk later had an assist on Reinhart’s game-tying goal to force overtime.
Penalties were an issue for the Oilers in the first period of Game 3. That was the case again on Thursday.
The Oilers gifted the Panthers three power plays in the opening frame, a game after giving them four in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers made them pay for their indiscretions.
Evander Kane took his third first-period penalty in the last two games, this time for high-sticking A.J. Greer. Nurse followed that up by tripping Aleksander Barkov. Tkachuk scored on the two-man advantage. (Kane’s penalty led to him getting benched for most of the rest of the period and then starting the second on the fourth line.)
Later, Mattias Ekholm was sent off for high-sticking Brad Marchand, and Tkachuk scored again.
The Oilers’ penalty kill has been an issue for most of these playoffs and has now allowed seven goals against on 21 Panthers power plays in the series. They just can’t keep taking penalties because they can’t kill enough of them off.
The legend of Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton is getting bigger and bigger.
His Game 1 heroics were well documented and he added to his playoff lore tonight, slotting in the game winner in overtime, not to mention a pair of assists to help power his team's comeback.
Draisaitl now has 32 points this postseason, tied with Connor McDavid for the most in the league.
Similar to Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart was critical in a strong opening period for the Panthers. He assisted on Tkachuk's second goal of the night and just over two minutes later, he created Anton Lundell's goal that made it a 3-0 game.
Then, with 20 seconds left to play in regulation and the Panthers trailing 4-3, Reinhart found a window of space and wristed the game-tying goal into the back of the net to force overtime.
Unfortunately for Reinhart and Florida, Leon Draisaitl struck again in OT.
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Remember the first period? Feels like a long time ago now.
Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals in a six-minute span late in the period, both coming on the power play.
He also had the primary assist on Sam Reinhart's game-tying goal with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
After a comeback like that, this kind of celebration in Edmonton is fitting…
This series is headed back to the North tied 2-2.
Calvin Pickard is just the sixth goaltender in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup Final game in relief.
He joins Andrei Vasilevskiy (2015, Lightning), Frank Pietrangelo (1991, Penguins), Roger Crozier (1975, Sabres), Gord Henry (1953, Bruins) and Lester Patrick (1928, Rangers).
Calvin Pickard said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch waited "right until the 11th hour" during the first intermission to let the goalkeeper know he was being inserted in place of Stuart Skinner to start the second period.
"I kind of had to scramble to get my gear on," Pickard told TNT, laughing.
"Obviously just wanted to go in there and hit the ball back. I knew we were going to have a better effort in the second and third (periods) … You guys have watched us all year. We play great hockey from behind. It was an unbelievable effort.
"Obviously, giving up that late goal was not ideal, but we regrouped and got a bounce."
Was it a pass? Was it a shot? The world may never know.
One thing is for certain: it was a goal and an Edmonton Oilers win.
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Game 4 hero Leon Draisaitl would like to not make the Oilers' thrilling comeback a habit heading into the final stretch of this 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
"We'd like to put ourselves in better situations so we don't have to constantly fight back and hang in there and scratch and claw our way back," Draisaitl told TNT after the game. "It is a great characteristic of our team. We continue to chip away.
"It's the trust that we have — once we find our legs, and once we find our game, we know how good we can be. And we just continue to push through whatever adversity is coming. Once we get to that hump, over that hump and to the other side, we know our best game is hard to play against. Obviously, we'd like to start that way a little sooner. … Obviously, we have a lot of work ahead of us here."
Zach G.: Shoutout to both teams: as a neutral fan this series has been absolutely fantastic so far. Nice reminder of why I love hockey.
Brian F.: Hopefully the Cats can get a read on Pickard. If he was unbeatable he wouldn’t sit behind Stu, but he was an absolute game changer tonight. I’d so prefer to be up 3-1 but this is a warranted 2-2 if there ever was one. What a friggin series!
Brennan L.: This series deserves 7.
John K.: What a great game! I'm not even a NHL fan, I'm a NBA fan. They might both go seven. If the NHL can pull casuals like me in they are moving in the right direction.
Ralph S.: Calvin will never pay for another beer in Edmonton.
Earlier today, Leon Draisaitl learned he had finished second in Hart Trophy voting, losing the NHL's MVP award to Connor Hellebuyck.
Draisaitl, of course, just ended his day by scoring his second overtime winner of the series to level this Stanley Cup Final at two games apiece.
Wayne Gretzky thinks the Hart Trophy snub may have affected the Oilers star:
"Athletes, especially great athletes, have a lot of pride. He's only thinking of winning the Stanley Cup, but when he didn't win that award today, he thought, 'OK, I'm gonna get on my horse today and show people how good I really am,' and he showed that tonight."
Calvin Pickard is now 7-0 this postseason. He took over for Stuart Skinner during the first round and ripped off six straight victories before an injury allowed Skinner to reclaim the starting role.
Pickard was incredible in relief tonight, particularly in overtime, so you would assume that Kris Knoblauch would stick with him for Game 5.
With the exception of Game 3 as well as the first period tonight, TNT analyst Wayne Gretzky (who has a few other titles as well) said on the postgame show just now that this Stanley Cup Final is "as good of playoff hockey as I have ever seen."
What a statement, considering the source.
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Leon Draisaitl's goal tonight was freakishly similar to Evgeni Malkin's in overtime against the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2009.
What a series!
Oilers 5, Panthers 4
Leon Draisaitl is just the third player in NHL history to score multiple overtime goals in a single Stanley Cup Final.
Here's the full list: