Leon Draisaitl’s Immediate Reaction to Oilers’ Comeback Win Against Panthers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Edmonton Oilers entered the first intermission of Game 4 looking more like a team on the edge of collapse than a Stanley Cup contender.
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Down 3–0 to the Florida Panthers after 20 minutes, outshot 17–7 through the first period, and reeling from a lopsided Game 3 loss, a strong response was very much needed to save their season.
What followed was one of the most dramatic comebacks in Stanley Cup Final history. After Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring for Edmonton in the second, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin tied the game before Jake Walman gave them a 4–3 lead in the third.
Florida, however, forced overtime with just under 20 seconds left in regulation on a Sam Reinhart goal. At 11:18 of OT, Leon Draisaitl backhanded the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky to end Game 4 and tie the series 2–2, with the finals shifting back to Edmonton for Game 5.
“That’s what we do,” Draisaitl told Gene Principe in the tunnel postgame. “We’re a resilient group, and we’re never going to quit, no matter what. We’ll take it and go home.”
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Draisaitl, who finished with two assists and the game-winner, emphasized how the team thrives under pressure.
“Once again, shows you, tells you, that our group never quits,” Draisaitl said. “I think we believe that no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we’re going to keep pushing. We’re going to keep coming. Eventually, it will break.”
Reflecting on the Oilers’ sluggish start, Draisaitl didn’t mince words.
“We wanted to come out strong tonight, but they put us on our heels early, and we were kind of lollygagging around a little bit,” Draisaitl said. “It’s certainly not the time to lollygag around, right, especially after getting spanked in Game 3.”
Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates the overtime win against the Florida Panthers in game four of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The turnaround may have started with a speech by veteran Oilers forward Corey Perry, who reportedly addressed the team in the locker room after the first period.
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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins paraphrased it as, “Wake up. Look where we are and the position we’re in.”
Now, the series returns to Canada tied 2–2, with Game 5 set for Saturday night and the Oilers once again having home-ice advantage entering the last three games of the season, assuming there is a deciding Game 7.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.