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The Florida Panthers are hosting the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, with the defending champions leading the series 2-1.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch shuffled his lineup tonight after his team was blown out in Game 3. He also stuck with Stuart Skinner in net originally, but replaced him with Calvin Pickard after the Panthers led 3-0 at the end of the first period. The changes worked, as Edmonton roared to life in the second period to tie the game behind goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin.
Jake Walman has one of the biggest shots in the league, and he used it to score one of the biggest goals of the year. If the Oilers hold on here, we're talking about an all-time gut-check victory for Edmonton, and an all-time collapse by Florida.
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P3 6:24 – Oilers 4, Panthers 3
Walman gives the Oilers their first lead of the night! Edmonton goes to work on the forecheck before Kapanen sets up Walman for a huge slap shot one-timer that beats Bobrovsky short side.
P3 8:39 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Perry sets up Podkolzin, the unlikely scorer of the equalizer last period, with a one-timer that forces a good save from Bobrovsky.
Bob is called into action again moments later as Nurse rips a powerful shot with Perry screening in front, but he comes up with another stop.
P3 10:27 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
The Oilers ice the puck with one second left on their power play. With the faceoff coming at the opposite end of the ice, the Panthers will get Bennett out of the box with the score still tied.
What a save by Bobrovsky, who gets his skate on Perry's spinning McDavid rebound attempt. For a game with six goals, we're seeing some incredible stops tonight.
P3 11:00 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Perry had the go-ahead goal on his stick there, what a save by Bobrovsky to deny him from point-blank range!
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P3 12:26 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Bennett gets his stick between Draisaitl's legs as the German looked to jump into an attack and trips him up. The Oilers get a power play with an opportunity to take the lead for the first time tonight.
P3 13:24 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Forsling slides the puck through the Oilers crease, looking for a teammate's stick to redirect it goalward. It beats Pickard but no Panther is there to tap it home.
Moments later, Pickard is called on to catch the puck dropping from above him after a crazy deflection.
Good start to the third for the Panthers, who are controlling play. But Edmonton has to feel good, too, after surviving the penalty kill and getting a few big stops from Calvin Pickard, whose steady play has to give them so much confidence after the way things started.
P3 16:00 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Despite the power play ending, Pickard has been under siege for the opening four minutes of the third period here. He makes his latest save with his face mask, stopping one from Mikkola that had some serious power. Play is paused for a minute as Pickard fixes his helmet straps.
P3 18:20 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Pickard makes a big save on an opportunity for Barkov, allowing the Oilers to survive the Panthers power play.
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Troy Stecher played just one 14-second shift in the second period. He remains on the Oilers bench.
P3 20:00 – Oilers 3, Panthers 3
Twenty pivotal minutes coming up here!
We start the period with 1:29 left on the Draisaitl elbowing minor.
Evan Bouchard is back on the Oilers bench to start the third period after leaving the second period with roughly a minute to go after taking a hard hit into the boards from Verhaeghe.
That's at all strengths. The five-on-five numbers tell the same story. Just a remarkable response from the Oilers in the second period. So yes, I said they looked cooked after one period. But I also said we should know better than to declare them cooked. So I was… right?
Leon Draisaitl, who has two assists tonight for Edmonton, now has 31 points during this playoff run. He is the first European-born player to record 30 or more points in three different postseasons.
Even more impressive, he's now done it two years straight, becoming just the fifth player (regardless of nationality) to accomplish this feat, joining Connor McDavid (2024-2025), Nikita Kucherov (2020-2021), Mario Lemieux (1991-1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1987-1988 and 1983-1985).
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Now that we're guaranteed at least one more goal in this game, this edition of the Stanley Cup Final will be just the third in NHL history to see at least seven goals scored in each of the first four games, following 1918 and 1980.
The Oilers can become the seventh team in NHL history overcome a three-goal deficit to win a Stanley Cup Final game. The others are the Hurricanes in 2006 (Game 1), Penguins in 1992 (Game 1), Flyers in 1987 (Game 3), Canadiens in 1944 (Game 4), Maple Leafs in 1936 (Game 3) and Canadiens in 1919 (Game 5).
Chris P.: Pickard looks like a seasoned veteran starter coming in mid-game.
A F.: Guess the Oilers are not ready to begin summer break after all.
Timothy W.: That’s what happens when you have a real goalie.
Anonymous: Florida fans who call McDavid overrated… do you even watch the game?
Remember, you can send us your thoughts by emailing us at live@theathletic.com. If you're a subscriber, you can also join the discussion page for Game 4 here.
