Originally posted on Sportsnaut
It might be a case of too little, too late, but Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers exploded offensively to stave off elimination and defeat the Florida Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at home Saturday.
After scoring only four goals in the first three games, each a loss, the Oilers doubled that in Game 4 and handed the Panthers their worst loss of the season, bringing an end to their six-game winning streak in the process.
The Panthers can capture their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history on Tuesday on home ice when they host the Oilers. They lead the best-of-7 series 3-1.
Let’s break down the winners and losers from Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Related: 2024 Stanley Cup Final: Schedule, results, TV info for Panthers-Oilers series
After being held to three assists in the first three games of the Final, Connor McDavid had four points in Game 4, scoring his first goal at 1:13 of the second period and adding three assists. His final assist of the night, on Dylan Holloway’s goal at 14:11 of the third period, gave him 32 assists in these playoffs, establishing a new NHL record for most assists in one postseason. He broke the previous mark held by another Oilers great, Wayne Gretzky.
Like the rest of his teammates, it was not a pretty night for Matthew Tkachuk. He was minus-3 and clearly frustrated, evidenced by his needless roughing penalty against Connor McDavid in the second period. Tkachuk still hasn’t scored a goal in this series and appears snakebit after hitting the post in the first period and later being robbed on an open chance by Stuart Skinner.
Though the final score was a rout in the Oilers favor, Stuart Skinner made the save of the night when the outcome was still in question in the first period. Up 2-1 but having just allowed a Panthers goal, the Oilers were under siege when Skinner made an incredible diving save on a wide-open Carter Verhaeghe, who could’ve easily tied the game. Skinner finished with 32 saves and was solid, never losing focus even with a big lead. And good for him finally getting some offensive support in this series, and some luck, like when Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart each hit iron on consecutive shots during a first-period power play.
The Panthers were so terrible Saturday that it’s hard to blame Sergei Bobrovsky much for this defeat. But he did allow five goals on 16 shots in 24:53 before being pulled for Anthony Stolarz, so there’s no question this loss hangs on him, too. To his credit, Bobrovsky appeared to shake this one off quickly, smiling on the bench late in the game, which is easier to do when you’re still one win away from capturing the Stanley Cup.
Talk about feel-good stories. Dylan Holloway stepped up in the biggest game of the season to score two goals and add an assist for his first points in the past 10 playoff games. The 22-year-old hadn’t scored a goal nor a point since the second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks, but he went to the net hard all night long Saturday and converted twice from in close, including a beauty of a finish after a sweet Leon Draisaitl feed. He just missed a hat trick after another great look in the third period.
The Panthers power play was a dud again in Game 4, going 0-for-4 and, worse, surrendering a shorthanded goal that opened the floodgates for the Oilers just 3:11 into the game. To their defense, the Panthers did hit the post twice on their first power play right before the Oilers scored shorthanded off an odd-man rush the other way. But that was a crushing goal, with Connor Brown dragging Sergei Bobrovsky out of the net to allow Mattias Janmark an open cage to score into. Florida is 1-for-13 on the power play in the series and 1-for-17 in its last six postseason games.
He’s been denigrated throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but Darnell Burse had his night on Saturday. The struggling Oilers defenseman, minus-16 entering play and physically banged up following a Game 2 injury, scored his first postseason goal this spring on a blast that knocked Sergei Bobrovsky out of the game at 4:59 of the second period to make it 5-1. Nurse led the Oilers with five blocked shots, six shots on goal and 11 shot attempts in his best outing of the postseason.
It wasn’t all his fault, sometimes wrong place at wrong time, but Aaron Ekblad was a game-worst minus-4. His legs weren’t moving and he was unaware of Leon Draisaitl behind him at the Panthers blue line on what turned into Dylan Holloway’s first goal of the game. Ekblad did block two shots and have three hits, but, yeah, minus-4.
The Oilers scored eight goals Saturday, one scored by Connor McDavid, another by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and none from Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman nor Joel Bouchard. That means six goals were scored by secondary options — two for Dylan Holloway, one each for Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, Darnell Nurse and Ryan McLeod. In four games, the secondary scorers have accounted for 10 of the 12 goals Edmonton has scored in this series.
For the second straight game, Carter Verhaeghe was minus-3 and he’s been on ice for six of Edmonton’s last 11 goals in this series. The Panthers forward has also been held off the score sheet in three straight games and was absolutely robbed by Stuart Skinner on a wide-open right-wing shot in Game 4.
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Originally posted on Sportsnaut
Published: 3 months ago
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