By ALANIS THAMES
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers led 3-0 in Recreation 4 of the Stanley Cup Last towards the Edmonton Oilers.
However, they misplaced.
Matthew Tkachuk and the celebrities of the defending champion Panthers smothered the Oilers within the first interval.
Edmonton’s veterans responded fiercely, scoring 4 straight objectives to take a 4-3 lead. The Panthers rebounded, scoring within the remaining seconds of the third interval to pressure time beyond regulation. However, Oilers star Leon Draisaitl scored 11:18 into OT to present Edmonton a 5-4, series-tying victory Thursday evening.
What initially seemed like a straightforward victory that might put Florida one win away from clinching a second straight Stanley Cup Last was an enormous collapse that has the sequence tied 2-2 heading again to Edmonton.
“We carried play in the first, they carried it in the second,” Tkachuk stated. “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 sort of sequence thus far — an evenly matched, forwards and backwards heavyweight battle between two extraordinarily skilled, resilient groups. The ultimate has been so tight that three of 4 video games have gone to time beyond regulation, marking simply the eighth Stanley Cup Last – and fourth within the enlargement period (since 1967-68) — to have three or extra video games require time beyond regulation.
Regardless of the loss, Florida coach Paul Maurice stated he may recognize the competitiveness.
“I think we focus on sometimes the mistakes that get made by good players at times,” Maurice stated, “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 almost saved the collapse Thursday when he scored a tying aim within the waning seconds of regulation. His rating with 19.5 seconds left was the second-latest tying aim in Stanley Cup Last historical past. The report was set earlier within the sequence by Edmonton’s Corey Perry in Recreation 2.
Florida, which acquired a pair of early power-play objectives from Tkachuk and an even-strength rating from Anton Lundell, had by no means squandered a 3-0 lead within the postseason. Getting into Thursday evening, groups had been 37-0 when main a Stanley Cup Last sport by three or extra objectives within the first interval.
After constructing the three-goal lead, Tkachuk stated he felt the Panthers weren’t linked. Reinhart added he felt they had been enjoying too passively.
“I think we were watching the play develop,” Reinhart stated, “as opposed to playing on our toes, and that’s obviously how they got back in the game.”
Edmonton, boosted by second interval objectives from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Vasily Podkolzin, turned the seventh crew in NHL historical past to beat a three-goal deficit within the Stanley Cup Last to win.
The Oilers additionally appeared to get an enormous increase of momentum after coach Kris Knoblauch determined to drag beginning goaltender Stuart Skinner after the Calvin Pickard allowed three objectives within the first interval.
Florida appears to relish the moments when the stress is the very best. That’s what the expertise of enjoying of their third straight Stanley Cup Last has taught the Panthers. And its a high quality that can be wanted in the event that they’re going to regroup from Recreation 4’s disappointing end.
“The more times you go through it, the better,” Reinhart stated. “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.”
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Initially Printed: June 12, 2025 at 8:59 PM PDT
