EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scoring in overtime to tie the Stanley Cup Final for the Edmonton Oilers ensured the series against the Florida Panthers cannot be decided in Game 5 on Saturday night.
Hockey's hallowed trophy will not yet be in the building. But it is guaranteed to be on Tuesday night back in Sunrise, making Game 5 another pivotal swing point in the NHL's championship series rematch.
“The team that can move on fastest is going to be have the best chance,” Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “The team that moves on from this and team that recovers the fastest is going to have the bigger advantage.”
The coaches involved, Florida's Paul Maurice and Edmonton's Kris Knoblauch, don't believe much in game-to-game momentum, and that theory has played out so far. Draisaitl and Brad Marchand traded OT heroics in the first two, the Panthers won the next in a rout, and took a three-goal lead in Game 4 before the Oilers erased it and got another from Draisaitl to even things up.
The Oilers are favored to go up 3-2 and are slightly favored to win it all, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Panthers have won 10 of the 11 playoff series they have been in over the past three years, including a year ago beating Edmonton in seven games in the final.
This has been different but still feels like it could go the distance.
“It’s two good teams, and they’re equally matched and you’re going to get some good hockey,” said 40-year-old Oilers winger Corey Perry, whose first intermission speech helped spark their Game 4 comeback. “There are some superstars on both sides of the puck. It’s fun to be a part of.”
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
