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Oilers keep series alive with blowout win vs Panthers

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jun 16 2024, 2:56 am
Oilers keep series alive with blowout win vs Panthers
Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers aren’t done just yet.

Facing a must-win game, the Oilers played by far and away their best game of the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Florida Panthers 8 -1.

As the score indicates, this one was all Oilers. Early on, however, there were some nerves throughout those in attendance at Rogers Place, as Darnell Nurse was given a two-minute minor for tripping Sam Bennett. The Oilers not only killed the penalty, though, but got a huge shorthanded goal from Mattias Janmark.

The Oilers were able to make it a 2-0 lead a short time later thanks to a goal from Adam Henrique, though things got a little tense once again as Vladimir Tarasenko scored to cut the deficit in half.

Dylan Holloway didn’t allow that tension to last long, scoring one of the nicer goals we have seen this postseason.

The Oilers didn’t let their foot of the gas, scoring three more in the second period to take a 6-1 lead into the third. One of those came from Connor McDavid, who was held scoreless this series entering tonight.

McDavid wound up with four points on the night, three of which were assists. In doing so, he broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most assists in a single playoff run in NHL history.

McDavid was far from the only Oiler to have a big night, as Holloway, Janmark, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman all had multipoint outings.

The Oilers still have plenty of ground to make up, as even with tonight’s win, they trail this series 3-1. That said, they were quite confident heading into Game 4 that they were capable of making a comeback, and tonight’s win will only help add to that confidence.

These two teams will head back to Florida for Game 5 on Tuesday, with puck drop set for 6 pm MT.

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