There will be no sweep in the Stanley Cup Final. After losing the first three games, the Edmonton Oilers finally broke through on offense to win 8-1 over the Florida Panthers in Game 4.
Edmonton combined for just four goals in the first three games of the series, and surpassed that total in just two periods on Saturday night. The party at Rogers Place started early when Mattias Janmark scored a shorthanded goal just 3:11 into the game, and the Oilers never looked back after that.
The big guns, who had been quiet for most of the series, finally got going in the second period.
Connor McDavid’s first goal of the series made the game 4-1. Darnell Nurse’s first finish in the playoffs was 5-1. The Oilers’ first goal in the Stanley Cup Final gave them a 6-1 lead, and that also happened to be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ first of the series.
Leon Draisaitl, who entered the game with zero points in this series, had two assists in Game 4. Zach Hyman has yet to find the back of the net, but he also found the stat sheet with a pair of assists.
In addition to his second-half goal, McDavid also added three assists, giving him 32 this postseason. That surpassed Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. The Oilers needed a special performance from McDavid tonight, and he helped them.