By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer
\nSUNRISE, Fla. \u2014 Falling behind three goals after 20 minutes, the Edmonton Oilers scored three of their own over the next 20 to erase their deficit. They took the lead, only to give up the tying goal to the Florida Panthers in the final seconds of regulation and send another game between the hockey heavyweights to overtime.<\/p>\n
Riding the waves of emotion through what\u2019s turning into an epic showdown in the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers beat the Panthers, 5-4, in Game 4 on Thursday night to tie the series on Leon Draisaitl\u2019s NHL playoff-record fourth OT goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cGames like that, it\u2019s exhausting \u2013 it\u2019s a roller coaster,\u201d Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. \u201cTwo good teams playing as hard as they are, playing the right way. Obviously with what\u2019s on the line, it\u2019s stressful. There\u2019s a lot on the line, but it is fun and I think our guys are having fun, enjoying this moment.\u201d
\nThey\u2019re enjoying it much more tied at two games apiece than they would have down 3-1 and on the brink of losing to Florida in the Final for a second consecutive year. They go home to Western Canada for Game 5 on Saturday night all even.
\n\u201cBetter than it could have been, but obviously a long way to go,\u201d said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored the Oilers\u2019 first goal in Game 4. \u201cWe\u2019re just excited to get back home and play in front of our fans, and Saturday night is going to be pretty fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Draisaitl\u2019s goal 11:18 into OT \u2013 the fourth session of extra hockey between these teams \u2013 came after Jake Walman put Edmonton ahead with six minutes left in the third period and Sam Reinhart tied it for Florida with 19.5 seconds left.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what we do: We\u2019re a resilient group,\u201d said Draisaitl, who also scored to win Game 1 in OT. \u201cWe\u2019re never going to quit no matter what. We\u2019ll take it and go home.\u201d
\nThe Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the Final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919. Only six teams have come back from down three in the Final, the last time in 2006.<\/p>\n
Edmonton fell behind 3-0 in the first period on a pair of goals by Matthew Tkachuk and another with 41.7 seconds left from Anton Lundell, which could have been a backbreaker.
\nKnoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner after his starter allowed those three goals on 17 shots in the first, when the ice was tilted against him and his teammates did not have much of a pushback. In went Calvin Pickard, the journeyman backup who won all six of his starts this playoffs before getting injured, and he stopped the first 18 shots he faced with some more big saves coming in overtime before Draisaitl scored.<\/p>\n
Pickard\u2019s play paved the way for the once-in-a-century comeback, with Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin all scoring in the second. The Oilers held on, went ahead on Walman\u2019s goal and dealt with more adversity when Reinhart sent it to overtime \u2013 the first Final since 2013 with three of the first four games needing extra hockey and the fifth all time.
\n\u201cThere were chances everywhere,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cBoth teams had good looks. I mean, one of their players it hits off a skate and hits the post. We got lucky there. It\u2019s a game of inches.\u201d<\/p>\n
What initially looked like an easy victory that would put Florida one win away from clinching a second straight Stanley Cup title turned into a huge collapse.
\n\u201cWe carried play in the first, they carried it in the second,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cSpecial teams were good for us in the first, special teams were good for them in the second. I think it was tighter than a 3-0 period at the start for us. And they clearly took control of play in the second. After two (periods) it\u2019s even, and it probably should have been. So, it doesn\u2019t matter how you how you start, you\u2019ve got to treat it as zeros at the start of a period.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has been that kind of series so far \u2013 an evenly matched, back and forth heavyweight fight between two extremely experienced, resilient teams. It is just the eighth Cup Final \u2013 and fourth in the expansion era (since 1967-68) \u2013 to have three or more games require overtime and there are at least two games left.
\nDespite the loss, Florida coach Paul Maurice said he could appreciate the competitiveness.
\n\u201cI think we focus on sometimes the mistakes that get made by good players at times,\u201d Maurice said, \u201cand you miss some of the heart and soul and the intensity of it. It\u2019s so fast. Every board battle, everything can turn into something. \u2026 Everything is dangerous all the time. So there\u2019s a mental intensity, a mental toughness I think both teams show that the game\u2019s not going to be over until it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The series is now tied, and the Oilers will look to take advantage of their home ice in Game 5. The Panthers, on the other hand, will need to regroup and find a way to bounce back from the disappointing finish in Game 4. With the series being so evenly matched, it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top in the end.<\/p>\n
Q: What was the final score of Game 4?
\nA: The final score was 5-4 in favor of the Edmonton Oilers.
\nQ: Who scored the winning goal in overtime?
\nA: Leon Draisaitl scored the winning goal 11:18 into OT.
\nQ: What is the current state of the series?
\nA: The series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 scheduled to take place in Edmonton.
\nQ: How many times have the Oilers come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final?
\nA: The Oilers became the first road team to rally from down three to win a game in the Final since the Montreal Canadiens against the Seattle Metropolitans in 1919.
\nQ: What is the significance of the series having three or more games require overtime?
\nA: It is just the eighth Cup Final \u2013 and fourth in the expansion era (since 1967-68) \u2013 to have three or more games require overtime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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