When You Refuse to Lose in the Stanley Cup Final

When You Refuse to Lose in the Stanley Cup Final

there’s a stat that goes back as far as the Stanley Cup finals have been in existence and that’s the fact that teams who are up three plus goals at the end of the first period in the Stanley Cup final are 37-0 all time that was until last night the Oilers were down and out their season was fading away second by second with each goal that went by Sewer Skinner Hope left Edmonton but Chris Knoblock must have laid into them in the intermission because when that puck dropped in the second period we saw an entirely new Oilers team they were faster they were sharper they were meaner and every shift felt like a last stand the comeback didn’t happen all at once but you could feel it brewing one goal would turn into two and then three and then the pressure was completely mounted the crowd was growing restless and suddenly the Panthers who had been in complete control for the first 20 minutes were the ones scrambling then fittingly it ended in the most chaotic way imaginable the Oilers didn’t just tie the series they rewrote history and they might have just changed the entire trajectory of the Stanley Cup final [Music] the puck dropped and the Panthers were off and running but for the first time this series we did not see a goal early in the period and that’s mainly because of this man right here skinner got pulled last game after letting up five but he still got the nod and this could be a very cherrypicked stat but Stu is pretty good in game fours in his career 6 and0 with two shutouts and early on he showed why making some clutch saves but the undisiplined play from last game carried over to this one as the Oilers were headed back to the penalty kill and about halfway through it Florida wins the draw to Kachchuck who just walks in and rips it low blocker on Skinner scores and it didn’t take long five on three panthers have the lead three guys in front of him and absolutely no side of the puck great play by Kachchuck to recognize that one- nothing Cats then after killing off the next penalty the Oilers took yet another one for their third penalty of the game florida showed off their quick passing yet again but Reinhardt fanned on it in the slot got his second attempt off and Kachchuck was there on the doorstep to finish the leftovers two power play goals two Kachchuck goals two nothing Panthers then in the last minute of the period a seemingly innocent dump handcuffed Stetcher who turned it over to Verhagy who found Lundell in the slot to fire it in and make it 3 nothing it was starting to feel a lot like last game and a lot like this series was over because if the Panthers went up 3-1 in the series there was no way they were letting that opportunity slip away again after they nearly did last year the Oilers needed to change something and they needed to do it quickly and they did they came out of the second period flying skinner had a breakaway here and that’s Jeff Skinner not Steuart Skinner because Stewart was on the bench after letting up three goals on 17 shots in the first Knoblock decided it was time to bring Pickard in back-to-back game skinner’s been pulled and now he’s probably done for the playoffs i don’t see him getting another start before getting injured Pickard was actually doing extremely well with Edmonton he went six and0 playing in games in the Kings series and the Vegas series and funny enough back in the LA series Skinner lost two straight and Pickard came in to finish out the series and then win the next two against Vegas now Skinner just got pulled after losing back-to-back games again so maybe Edmonton gets the same sort of magic from their backup and it seemed like that might be the case because early in the second period they went to the power play and got an absolute snipe here from NG right under the bars across it Hopkins and is it in yes and the Oilers are on the board then after dominating the next 10 minutes they broke through again with yet another unreal snipe in the top part of the net this time from Darnell Nurse Nurse scores darnell Nurse up high definitely not what you were expecting him to do there but you have to expect the unexpected especially in this series they’re hyped up it’s 3-2 and all of a sudden the Oilers are within one goal back on the power play soon after that we almost got a little taste of McDavid magic here as he snatched Ecklad’s ankles for the second time the series but was robbed here by Bob who had been playing pretty well up to this point then just 30 seconds after that rush by McDavid Nurse sent a puck to the front of the net and Pud Coulson jumped on the loose puck to tie this one up first trying to center it in front of back scores the game is tied a pretty insane turnaround from where we were at the start of the period but now we have an entirely different game heading into the third period bob was playing great keeping everything out but with 6 minutes left it was the Oilers who broke the deadlock with this missile from Wman here’s a chance the bobbling puck went shortside on Barbaroski and the Oilers were up one with just 6 minutes left the clock was winding down florida had their net empty and it looked like we were going back to Edmonton with a tied series but with 20 seconds left in the game Kuck bobbled a puck in a prime scoring area but luckily it went right to Reinhardt who put it in he scores game tied and it really felt like the sky was falling for the Oilers ot started and this one was almost over early because how did this not go in then Sam Bennett the leading goal scorer in the playoffs gets a great look here but Picker gets a glove on it and watching this live I honestly thought this went in but Picker got a glove and kept it out then with 9 minutes left Matias Ekholm fired a stretch pass all the way up the ice it was tipped across the zone and landed right on the stick of the guy you don’t want to see with the puck in overtime Leon Dryidle he shoveled the puck towards the net with one hand it deflected off Mika and somehow it found its way in leon Dryles won it in game four for the Oilers you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good and that was the perfect example of it as Dry Settle scored his fourth overtime winner of the playoffs setting a new NHL record and snatching victory from the hands of defeat to tie the series up for Edmonton the Oilers they had every excuse to fold this game they were down three nothing after one period history wasn’t just against them it was undefeated no team had ever come back from a three-goal first period deficit in Stanley Cup final history but Edmonton they don’t care they refused to be the next name on that list and after a brutal start and yet another goalending change the Oilers completely flipped the script they found their legs they found their fight and clawed their way back into this game that felt like it was over after 15 minutes shift by shift they chipped away at Florida’s lead until the score was tied and suddenly the building was quiet even when the Panthers forced overtime in the dying seconds Edmonton they didn’t flinch they held strong they waited for their moment and when it came they didn’t miss it it was gritty it was chaotic and maybe just a little bit lucky but it was everything this team needed the Oilers didn’t just tie this series they shocked the Panthers rewrote history and proved they’re still very much alive and a big reason for that was Calvin Pickard he was thrown into the fire after a rough outing from Skinner yet again and the veteran backup stepped in and brought calm to the chaos he didn’t need to steal the game he just needed to stabilize it and that’s exactly what he did pickard’s composure seemed to settle the entire bench and the Oilers suddenly had belief again with every save the energy shifted florida stopped looking invincible edmonton stopped playing scared and from that moment on everything changed but he wasn’t the only hero when it came time to finish the job it was Leon Dryidle who made that play to win the game he didn’t need a flashy move or a perfect shot just a simple puck shove that bounced off a defender and found its way in it wasn’t pretty but it was perfect that goal gave him his fourth overtime winner of the playoffs the most ever in NHL history just another reminder of how clutch Dry settle has been when it matters most expect a physical fast-paced battle with no room for mistakes in game five both teams will be desperate to control the game’s tempo and force the other into errors the winner of game five won’t just get an advantage they’ll be one step closer to hoisting Lord Stanley this is the kind of game legends are made in whoever comes out on top will be one win away from glory and the other one’s season will be on the brink of collapse get ready for a battle that could decide everything

Down 3–0 after the first, the Oilers made history, becoming the first team to erase that deficit in a Stanley Cup Final. Calvin Pickard stepped up in relief, and Draisaitl sealed it in OT. It was gritty, chaotic, and unforgettable, a season-saving win that tied the series and completely shifted the momentum heading into Game 5.

twitter – https://x.com/hectichockey
instagram – https://www.instagram.com/hectichockey