Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers routed the Florida Panthers 8-1 in game four of the Stanley Cup Final Saturday night at Rogers Place.
“It’s just one win, that’s all it is,” McDavid said after the game. “It doesn’t matter if you score eight or you score one, it’s just one win. We’ve got to go to Florida and do a job and drag them back to Alberta.”
Florida leads the best-of-seven 3-1.
The Panthers went on the power play before the game was two minutes old. Darnell Nurse was initially given a five-minute penalty for kneeing Sam Reinhart. It was changed to a tripping minor after video review. On the power play, Matthew Tkachuk hit the cross bar with a shot from the high slot, then Reinhart hit the post on the rebound. The Oilers went the other way with Connor Brown setting up Mattias Janmark for a shorthanded goal. Less than five minutes later, Janmark busted down the left side and set the puck in front to Adam Henrique, who chipped in his third of the post-season.
Still in the first, Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a deflection to put the Panthers in business. Less than a minute later, Carter Verhaeghe wired a one-timer on a two-on-one, but Stuart Skinner came up with a stretching left wrist save. Leon Draisaitl recorded his first point of the series when he sent the puck in front to Dylan Holloway, who tucked a backhand past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fourth.
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“Over the years we’ve always come through, even with teams playing us tight,” Draisaitl said. “Obviously it feels good to put a couple goals on the board, but we just have to make sure we stay on it.”
The Oilers poured it on early in the second, with Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse both beating Bobrovsky blocker side. Bobrovsky, after allowing 5 goals on 16 shots in 24:59, was replaced by Anthony Stolarz.
A scrum broke out later in the second leading to minor penalties to both Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. On the ensuing two-man advantage, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tapped in a loose puck for his seventh and a 6-1 Oilers lead.
Holloway chipped in his second of the game when he was the tail end of a great passing play with McDavid and Corey Perry. McLeod banged in a loose puck to score in the second straight game.
“It’s a team game,” Brown said. “There’s no more of a team game then hockey. You need all 20 guys and everybody’s contributing, whether you’re grabbing momentum, making defensive plays, penalty kill, power-play; that was the recipe right there. We know what that feels like to have a good recipe and get in a good rhythm, and when we get in a good rhythm we’re a scary club.”
McDavid’s three assists brought him to 32 to set a new league record for most assists in a single post-season. Wayne Gretzky had 31 in 1988.
“He knows our team well,” McDavid said after being asked about head coach Kris Knoblauch’s efforts to get the players going. “He’s been here long enough now to understand the different dynamics, both on and off the ice. He’s done a great job all playoffs long, understanding the group, understanding what tweaks are needed. I thought he did another great job tonight in adjusting that way.”
Skinner earned the win with 32 saves.
The Oilers will visit the Panthers for game five on Tuesday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 4 p.m., game at 6 p.m.).
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