Draisaitl scores another big goal, Pickard steady in relief for Oilers in Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Who played well in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it’s easy to tell, sometimes it isn’t. NHL.com graded the players in a 5-4 overtime win by the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday. Here are the players that stood out the most.

Honor roll

Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers): He helped the Oilers get back in the game in the second period with two assists and he finished things off at 11:18 of overtime to complete Edmonton’s comeback to remember. Quite the finish from a guy who knows how to finish. He had the overtime winner in Game 1 as well, that one on a power play.

Calvin Pickard (Edmonton Oilers): It couldn’t have been the easiest situation for the Oilers' backup goalie, who relieved starter Stuart Skinner at the start of the second period. It was the second straight game Pickard relieved Skinner, and he was strong again, stopping 22 of 23 shots as the rest of the Oilers woke up. Yes, pulling Skinner was probably more about the Oilers’ play in front of him in the first, but Pickard still had to do his part.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers): The Oilers forward has taken some practice days off and could be playing with an injury, but that didn’t stop him from making a huge difference in Game 4. He got the Oilers’ comeback started with his sixth goal of the playoffs at 3:33 of the second period, and his battle to win the puck against several Panthers players helped set up defenseman Jake Walman’s go-ahead goal at 13:36 of third period.

Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers): The forward hadn’t scored a goal in this series, but he made up for it on Thursday. Tkachuk scored twice, first on a 5-on-3 at 11:40 of the first period and the second on a 5-on-4 power play at 16:56. Those were his first goals since May 28, when he scored one against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton Oilers): Ekholm had the primary assist on Darnell Nurse’s second-period goal, but it was the goal he prevented with 1:21 remaining in that period that was truly memorable. With Pickard out of position, Ekholm was in front of an open Oilers net. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenseman blocked Tkachuk’s chance for his third goal of the night with the inside of his right leg to keep the score 3-3. Ekholm blocked four shots in Game 4.

Stock watch

Drama: ⬆️ We’re talking about good drama here, folks. We’re talking about how awesomely dramatic three of these four games have been, and that includes Game 4. Once again, we had a big goal at the end of regulation. Once again, we had overtime. Once again, it was awesome hockey. This is the eighth Cup Final, and the fourth in the expansion era (since 1967-68), to have at least three games require overtime. The last time was in 2014.

Star power: ⬆️ Let’s start with former NHL great Jaromir Jagr (yes, the 53-year-old is still playing in the Czech Republic), who was in town to take in Game 4. Jason Taylor, former Miami Dolphins linebacker and defensive end and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, banged the drum prior to puck drop. Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end/three-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce were also here. Not a bad people watching night.

Oilers first period: ⬇️ It really couldn’t have been much worse for Edmonton in the first 20 minutes. The Oilers were called for three penalties, the Panthers scored on two of the three power plays, they fell behind 3-0 on a 5-on-5 goal late, and they were outshot 17-7. The only player in white and blue who looked ready to start Game 4 was Skinner.

Oilers second period: ⬆️ Or a down second period for the Panthers, but since we tagged the Oilers for their bad first period, we will credit them for their turnaround. The Oilers did a complete 180 in the second, scoring three goals, including one on the power play, to tie the game 3-3. They outshot the Panthers 17-10 and controlled most of the play. The first 40 minutes was truly a tale of two (very different) periods.

Power plays: ⬆️ Didn’t matter if it was the Oilers or Panthers, the power plays were looking good in Game 4. The teams went a combined 3-for-8 on the power play, but even when they didn’t score, they created plenty. The Panthers had nine shots on four power plays, the Oilers had 11 shots on four.

What we learned

Oilers are never out of it

Edmonton couldn’t manage a comeback in Game 3, but it definitely found some mojo going in Game 4. The Oilers became the seventh team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal deficit to win a game in the Stanley Cup Final. The last team to do so was the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the 2006 Final. The Hurricanes went on to win the Cup that year.

Panthers can’t finish

There’s no such thing as a comfortable lead in the Cup Final, and the Panthers were reminded of that on Thursday. Although they forced overtime, the Panthers couldn’t find one more answer in overtime. Now they head back to Edmonton, where they lost Game 1 in overtime and won Game 2 in double overtime. Can they steal another one on the road? The Panthers will need a 60-minute effort, like they got in Game 3, to do so.