Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup celebrations are put on ice as Edmonton Oilers net EIGHT to avoid sweep and pull a game back in series
The Florida Panthers will have to wait at least a few more days to lift their first Stanley Cup as the Edmonton Oilers’ dormant offense woke up in a big way on Saturday night with eight goals.
The Oilers defeated the Panthers 8-1 to extend the NHL season by at least three days, with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida.
Edmonton had seven different scorers in the match, tallying the first two marks of the match.
Florida scored the only goal of the game to pull within one midway through the first period.
Then came six unanswered goals in Edmonton.
Edmonton’s eight goals fueled one of the NHL’s most potent offenses on Saturday
The Florida Panthers’ hopes of lifting their first Stanley Cup will have to wait at least a few days
While beating the Panthers three times in a row to win the Stanley Cup is still a tough challenge, Canada’s dream of ending its more than thirty-year Stanley Cup drought is still alive for a few more days continue.
On Edmonton’s seventh goal of the game, Connor McDavid scored his 32nd assist of the playoffs, setting the all-time postseason record.
The record was previously owned by former Edmonton star Wayne Gretzky.
Edmonton hasn’t won on the road in this series, with Game 5 returning to the United States.
The Panthers haven’t lost in regulation in Florida since the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Bruins.
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was out of the Stanley Cup Finals until Saturday.
Bobrovsky was pulled five minutes into the second period after allowing five goals on 16 shots – more than he gave up in the first three games of the series combined.
The Oilers also improved to 3-0 this postseason when facing elimination. To win the Stanley Cup, that record will have to reach six unblemished victories.