Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers 8-1 in game four of the Stanley Cup final Saturday night at Rogers Place.
Florida leads the best-of-seven 3-1.
The Panthers started the power play before the game was two minutes old. Darnell Nurse initially received a five-minute penalty for kneeling Sam Reinhart. After video review, it was changed to a stumbling minor. On the power play, Matthew Tkachuk hit the crossbar with a shot from the high slot, then Reinhart hit the post off the rebound. The Oilers went the other way and Connor Brown set up Mattias Janmark for a shorthanded goal. Less than five minutes later, Janmark shot down the left sideline and passed the puck to Adam Henrique, who scored his third of the postseason.
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Still in the first inning, Vladimir Tarasenko scored on a deflection to put the Panthers in business. Less than a minute later, Carter Verhaeghe knocked in a one-timer on a two-on-one, but Stuart Skinner came up with a sweeping left wrist save. Leon Draisaitl recorded his first point of the series when he sent the puck forward to Dylan Holloway, who tucked a backhand past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fourth.
The Oilers turned it on early in the second, with Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse both beating Bobrovsky’s blocker side. Bobrovsky, after allowing 5 goals on 16 shots in 24:59, was replaced by Anthony Stolarz.
Later in the second, a scrum broke out, leading to minor penalties for 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 scored his second of the game as he capped a great passing game with McDavid and Corey Perry. McLeod knocked in a loose puck and scored in the second straight game.
McDavid’s three assists took him to 32, setting a new league record for most assists in a single postseason. Wayne Gretzky had 31 in 1988.
Skinner earned the win with 32 saves.
The Oilers visit the Panthers on Tuesday for game five (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 4 p.m., game at 6 p.m.).
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