Leon Draisaitl scored the overtime winner Thursday night as the Oilers stormed back from a three-goal deficit to beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 and even the Stanley Cup Final at two games apiece.
The Oilers looked finished early, trailing 3-0 after the first period and pulling starting goalie Stuart Skinner for Calvin Pickard. But Edmonton clawed back, starting with a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power-play goal early in the second. Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin added quick strikes to stun the Florida crowd.
Jake Walman’s one-timer gave Edmonton a 4-3 lead with under seven minutes to play, only for Florida’s Sam Reinhart to tie it with 19.5 seconds left, forcing overtime. Then Draisaitl, already with two assists on the night, buried the winner at 11:18 of OT—his fourth overtime goal this postseason, setting a new NHL record.
Pickard, calm under pressure, made 23 saves in relief and improved to 7-0 in the playoffs. His stop on Anton Lundell midway through OT kept the Oilers alive.
The comeback was historic. Edmonton became just the seventh team ever to erase a three-goal deficit in a Stanley Cup Final game—and the first to do it on the road since 1919.
Tkachuk scored twice on the power play for Florida in the first, exposing Edmonton’s penalty-killing struggles again. The Oilers have now allowed seven power-play goals on 21 Florida chances in the series. Discipline remains an issue.
Still, Edmonton’s resilience is undeniable. This was their eighth comeback win of the postseason, matching the franchise mark from 1987 and 1991. With the series shifting back to Rogers Place for Game 5 on Saturday, the Oilers have momentum—and belief—on their side.
