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The Edmonton Oilers solved Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky just in time to save their season.
The Oilers chased Bobrovsky in the second period on their way to a 8-1 victory in Game 4 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals.
The final will now go back to Florida for Game 5. The Panthers still lead the series, 3-1.
The Oilers' dominant effort was led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who had been largely held off the scoresheet through three prior games.
Draisaitl assisted on two goals, while McDavid scored and added three assists.
McDavid now has 32 assists in 22 playoff games this summer, beating out Wayne Gretzky's effort in 1988 for the most helpers in a single NHL postseason.
Frank Seravalli @frank_seravalli<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oilers</a> Connor McDavid set a new <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> record tonight for most assists in a single playoff with 32.<br><br>If you wanted a Gretzky-like stat, consider this one: McDavid has as many assists these playoffs as 16 of the 18 postseason leaders in the salary cap era had total points.<br><br>2023…
Kyle Senra @SenraSaysConnor McDavid has 38 points in the 2024 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StanleyCupPlayoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StanleyCupPlayoffs</a> <br><br>That is tied for 5th most all-time in a single <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Playoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Playoffs</a> season<br><br>Only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have produced more points in a single <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Playoff?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Playoff</a> year
Fans were also impressed with the team's overall performance as Mattias Janmark, Zach Hyman and Dylan Holloway each joined the Oilers' stars with multipoint nights.
The Oilers were forced to kill off a penalty early in the first period, but Janmark kept the home crowd in the game with a shorthanded goal to open scoring.
Halfway through the first period, Vladimir Tarasenko scored to cut the Edmonton lead in half and threaten a Panthers comeback.
The Oilers responded with five straight goals, including a second-period strike from Darnell Nurse that led the Panthers to pull Bobrovsky in favor of Anthony Stolarz.
Edmonton's ability to finally solve Bobrovsky, against whom they had previously been held to just four goals in three games, led some fans to believe the Oilers could pull off a historic reverse sweep:
The definitive win after three games of deflating losses also led fans to compare the Stanley Cup Finals to the ongoing 2024 NBA Finals.
The Dallas Mavericks forced a fifth game against the Boston Celtics Friday with a similarly convincing victory in a must-win Game 4.
McDavid will look to drive his team to another victory as the Oilers hit the road for another must-win game this week.
The Panthers will meanwhile have the chance to win the Stanley Cup at home when the series returns to Sunrise on Tuesday.
