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Why Panthers vs. Oilers II already stands as a historic Stanley Cup Final

David J. Neal and Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald on

Published in Hockey

Early goals, historically late goals, once-in-a-century comebacks, overtime games that seemed about to end three, four, 17 times before they did, gorgeous goals and saves ... only four games in, this year’s Panthers-Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final rematch already might be the best sequel since “The Godfather, Part II.” Or, at least, “The Empire Strikes Back.”

On TNT’s Game 4 postgame show, Wayne Gretzky, holder of 60 NHL records, said other than all of Game 3 and Game 4’s first period, “it has been probably as good playoff hockey as I’ve ever seen.”

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said after Game 4, “Games like that, it’s exhausting. It’s a rollercoaster. I do appreciate the level of hockey: two good teams, playing as hard as they are, playing the right way. I do appreciate being so close to the action and seeing what I’ve seen. Obviously, with what’s on the line, it’s stressful.

“But, it is fun. I think our guys are having fun enjoying this moment.”

When Panthers right wing Matthew Tkachuk was asked after Game 4 if this was the tightest series he’s been in, Tkachuk pointed out the Panthers had three overtime games in the first four Eastern Conference final games against the Rangers a year ago.

But, a) that wasn’t a Stanley Cup Final and b) all three of these games had lead changes in regulation and c) two got sent into overtime on the latest game-tying regulation goals in Stanley Cup Finals history.

Only two Stanley Cup Finals since forward passing became legal 97 years ago — remember that, we’ll bring it up again — have had more goals in the first four games than the 32 scored by the Panthers and Oilers: the New York Islanders first two Stanley Cup Finals, 1981, 36 with the Minnesota North Stars and 1980, 33 with Philadelphia.

Despite near historic Cup Final offense, nobody blinked when Tkachuk said about teammate Sergei Bobrovsky and Edmonton’s Calvin Pickard, “Both goalies were unreal tonight.”

Tkachuk pointed to a partial breakaway save on Leon Draisaitl in the third. He could have brought up Bobrovsky turning away Connor McDavid after the Edmonton center swiftly slalomed between tired Panthers penalty-killers to a one-on-one duel with the Panthers goalie.

Pickard’s Game 4 highlight save came in overtime, gloving Sam Bennett’s blast off the crossbar. The game might not have gotten there had Pickard not stoned Anton Lundell after a turnover gave the Panthers center a mini-breakaway with the Panthers up 3-1 in the second period.

Pickard subbed for Stuart Skinner, who more than one person thought did well to hold the Panthers to three goals on 17 shots in the first period.

“Every board battle, everything can turn into something, so there’s a tension because both teams can score,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “From my point of view, there’s been phenomenal goaltending in this series. The numbers say I’m lying, the final score says I’m lying but the goaltending’s been incredible. Because the game can break on slot pass to Sam Bennett, crack a bar.

“Just everything is dangerous all the time. So there’s a mental intensity, mental toughness that both teams show.”

History being made

 

— By winning Game 4 after the Panthers had a 3-0 lead, Edmonton became the first team to do that in a Stanley Cup Final road game since the pandemic.

No, not the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 that drove the playoffs into a bubble — the flu pandemic of 1919, the one that canceled the Stanley Cup Final after five games. In that last game, the Seattle Metropolitans led 3-0 on home ice before Le Club de Hockey Canadien from Montreal pulled out a 4-3 win.

That was the first season the NHL used blue lines. Eight seasons later, players could legally pass the puck forward.

— Last-minute goals sending Stanley Cup Final games into overtime happen. But, they don’t happen as late or as often as they’ve happened in this series.

Panthers right wing Sam Reinhart’s goal with 19.5 seconds left Thursday would’ve been the latest game-tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history ... if it hadn’t been for Corey Perry’s goal with 17.8 seconds left in Game 2 that sent that game into overtime. This is the first time two games in the same Cup Final had last minute goals to bring on overtime.

Both games, the team that sent it into overtime wasn’t the team that won it, running against the theory of momentum.

“Why doesn’t it carry over? I mean, when you’re talking at this time of year, it’s bounces either way,” Reinhart said. “I think if you look at Game 2, they could have had a number go in the net, and tonight we could have had a number go in the net. So, I don’t think it’s too hard to reset. It’s just the way the bounces go sometimes.”

— Speaking of bonus hockey, four other Stanley Cup Final series also treated fans to overtime in three of the first four games: 1946 Montreal vs. Boston; 1951 Toronto vs. Montreal, when all five games went to overtime; 1993 Montreal vs. Los Angeles; and 2013 Chicago vs. Boston.

— None of those series, however, possessed the bungee jumping quality of the Panthers and Oilers, who exchanged the lead in regulation in all three of their games. The Panthers went down 1-0 in Game 1, but got up 3-1 before losing 4-3. In Game 2, the Panthers went up 1-0, Edmonton took 2-1 and 3-2 leads in the first period, the Panthers’ took a 4-3 lead after two periods and won 5-4 in overtime.

— Thursday, as discussed above, the Panthers were up 3-0 after one, Edmonton tied it in the second period before taking a 4-3 lead in the third and winning it in overtime on Leon Draisaitl’s goal.

A third multi-goal comeback for a win would tie this series with the 1987 Edmonton-Philadelphia final for most such wins in a final of the post-1967 NHL expansion era.

— Draisaitl’s Game 4 overtime shove that caromed off a sliding Niko Mikkola and past Bobrovsky gave him a record four playoff overtime goals this year and made him the third person with two such goals in the same Cup Final. Both Draisaitl’s predecessors, the Rangers Don Raleigh in 1950 and Montreal’s John LeClair in 1993, did so in back-to-back games.


©2025 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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