The Edmonton Oilers kept their championship hopes alive with an explosive 8-1 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place on Saturday (June 15).
Dylan Holloway scored twice, while Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, and Ryan McLeod each had a goal for the Oilers, who now trail the best-of-seven series 3-1. Vladimir Tarasenko scored the lone goal for Florida, which remains one victory from capturing the first championship in franchise history.
Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 32 of 33 shots to snap a three-game losing streak. Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 16 shots before being relieved by Anthony Stolarz, who faced 19 shots and stopped 16.
Spurred on by the electric crowd, Edmonton jumped ahead 2-0 before the game was eight minutes old and never looked back. The Oilers led 3-1 after the first period and 6-1 after 40 minutes en route to the team’s first Stanley Cup Final win since June 17, 2006.
Saturday’s victory for the Oilers was also the first in franchise history when they faced being swept in a playoff series. Edmonton was previously 0-5 in Game 4 when trailing the series 3-0.
On an unprecedented night in so many ways, it’s only fitting that some history was made along the way. Here are Edmonton’s four most incredible record-setting stats and some record-tying stats from Game 4 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Eleven of the 12 centres or wingers who suited up for the Oilers on Saturday recorded at least one point, setting a new franchise record for most forwards with a point in a postseason game.
McDavid led the way with four points, and Holloway had three points, while Janmark, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman had two points apiece. Derek Ryan was the only Oilers forward not to record a point.
Previously, the most Oilers forwards to record a point in a playoff was 10, which happened seven times, most recently on May 31, 2022, against the Colorado Avalanche. The NHL record is 12, shared by the 2018 San Jose Sharks and 2022 Avalanche.
Four Edmonton defenceman also had a goal or an assist in Game 4cxdf,m, bringing the grand total of Oilers with at least one point on Saturday to 15. That ties the Stanley Cup Final record that was established just a year ago by the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas had 15 players register a point in Game 5 of the 2023 championship series, also against the Panthers.
McDavid Establishes Assist Benchmark
In addition to scoring his sixth goal of these playoffs when he fired the puck past Bobrovsky at 1:13 of the second period, McDavid recorded three assists on Saturday.
Edmonton’s captain now has 32 apples in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s 36-year-old record for most assists by a player in a single NHL postseason. Gretzky had 31 assists with the Oilers in the 1988 Playoffs when he led Edmonton to its fourth Stanley Cup championship.
With four points on Saturday, McDavid also moved into a tie with Gretzky for the fifth most points in an NHL playoff year. McDavid has 38 points this postseason, the same as Gretzky recorded in 1983. The record for most points is 47, set by Gretzky in 1985.
Edmonton Sets Goal Scoring Record
By lighting the lamp eight times, the Oilers set a club postseason record for most goals in a game when facing elimination. The previous mark was seven goals, which occurred twice, against the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of the 1984 Smythe Division Final and against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the second round of the 2017 NHL Playoffs.
Edmonton also matched its franchise record for most goals in a Stanley Cup Final game. The Oilers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 8-3 in Game 5 of the 1985 championship round to win the series and clinch the Cup.
Oilers’ Penalty Kill Keeps Making History
Amid the goal-scoring on Saturday, Edmonton’s defensive play is easily overlooked. But the Oilers penalty-kill unit deserves plenty of attention after killing off all four Florida power play opportunities in Game 4.
Edmonton has gone seven consecutive home games without allowing a power play goal, extending its already record-long streak. Before this year, the Oilers had never gone more than five straight games in a single postseason without conceding a power play tally.
To top things off, Janmark’s goal, which gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead just 3:11 into the game, came while Edmonton killed off a penalty. It was the second shorthanded goal of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Janmark, making him the first Oilers player with multiple shorties in a single postseason since Todd Marchant 27 years ago. Marchant had a Stanley Cup Playoff record-tying three shorthanded goals in 1997.
