SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers led 3-0 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
But, they lost.
Matthew Tkachuk and the stars of the defending champion Panthers smothered the Oilers in the first period.
Edmonton’s veterans responded fiercely, scoring four straight goals to take a 4-3 lead. The Panthers rebounded, scoring in the final seconds of the third period to force overtime. But, Oilers star Leon Draisaitl scored 11:18 into OT to give Edmonton a 5-4, series-tying victory Thursday night.
What initially looked like an easy victory that would put Florida one win away from clinching a second straight Stanley Cup Final turned into a huge collapse that has the series tied 2-2 heading back to Edmonton.
“We carried play in the first, they carried it in the second,” Tkachuk said. “Special teams were good for us in the first, special teams were good for them in the second. I think it was tighter than a 3-0 period at the start for us. And they clearly took control of play in the second. After two (periods) it’s even, and it probably should have been. So, it doesn’t matter how you how you start, you’ve got to treat it as zeros at the start of a period.”
It has been that kind of series so far — an evenly matched, back and forth heavyweight fight between two extremely experienced, resilient teams. The final has been so tight that three of four games have gone to overtime, marking just the eighth Stanley Cup Final – and fourth in the expansion era (since 1967-68) — to have three or more games require overtime.
Despite the loss, Florida coach Paul Maurice said he could appreciate the competitiveness.
“I think we focus on sometimes the mistakes that get made by good players at times,” Maurice said, “and you miss some of the heart and soul and the intensity of it. It’s so fast. Every board battle, everything can turn into something. … Everything is dangerous all the time. So there’s a mental intensity, a mental toughness I think both teams show that the game’s not going to be over until it is.”
Sam Reinhart nearly saved the collapse Thursday when he scored a tying goal in the waning seconds of regulation. His score with 19.5 seconds left was the second-latest tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history. The record was set earlier in the series by Edmonton’s Corey Perry in Game 2.
Florida, which got a pair of early power-play goals from Tkachuk and an even-strength score from Anton Lundell, had never squandered a 3-0 lead in the postseason. Entering Thursday night, teams were 37-0 when leading a Stanley Cup Final game by three or more goals in the first period.
After building the three-goal lead, Tkachuk said he felt the Panthers weren’t connected. Reinhart added he felt they were playing too passively.
“I think we were watching the play develop,” Reinhart said, “as opposed to playing on our toes, and that’s obviously how they got back in the game.”
Edmonton, boosted by second period goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin, became the seventh team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal deficit in the Stanley Cup Final to win.
The Oilers also seemed to get a huge boost of momentum after coach Kris Knoblauch decided to pull starting goaltender Stuart Skinner after the Calvin Pickard allowed three goals in the first period.
The good news for the Panthers is they’ve responded well this postseason following letdowns.
Florida seems to relish the moments when the pressure is the highest. That’s what the experience of playing in their third straight Stanley Cup Final has taught the Panthers. And its a quality that will be needed if they’re going to regroup from Game 4’s disappointing finish.
“The more times you go through it, the better,” Reinhart said. “It’s never going to be perfect. This time of year, we’ve been here before. We’ve been through it. So … it’s about recovering for Game 5.”