With their season on the line, the Edmonton Oilers stepped up and made sure there would be no Stanley Cup presentation in their own building.
The Oilers are sending the series back to the Sunshine State after an 8-1 blowout win over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 on Saturday at Rogers Place.
After scoring just four goals in the first three games, all losses, the Oilers flew past that figure in the second period of Game 4. As a result, Florida fell well short in its goal to finish off the first sweep in the Stanley Cup Final since 1998.
The Oilers rocketed out of the starting gate, taking a 3-1 lead after the first period.
Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark opened the scoring with a short-handed goal set up by Connor Brown after the Panthers hit two posts just earlier.
Adam Henrique doubled the Oilers’ lead before Vladimir Tarasenko cut the deficit to 2-1.
Oilers forward Dylan Holloway restored the home side’s two-goal edge, taking a nice pass from Edmonton star Leon Draisaitl and finishing off a beautiful play. It was Draisaitl’s first point of the Final.
Fellow Edmonton star Connor McDavid scored his first of the Final to make it 4-1 in the second period before Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers a 5-1 lead. The latter goal, on Edmonton’s 17th shot, was the end for Panthers star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who was replaced by Anthony Stolarz.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made it 6-1 later in the second as Edmonton scored on the power play for the first time in the series.
Holloway put the Oilers up 7-1 with his second of the night. McDavid set a playoff record on the goal with his 32nd assist. It was his third helper of the night.
Ryan McLeod contributed to the scoring with the eighth and final goal of the night.
The series now returns to Sunrise, Fla. for Game 5 on Tuesday.
