EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final as part of a four-point performance, and the Edmonton Oilers routed the Florida Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 on Saturday night to avoid being eliminated in a sweep.
The Oilers scored five goals on their first 16 shots to chase playoff MVP candidate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky early in the second period. McDavid had three assists to reach 32 and pass Wayne Gretzky for the most in a single postseason.
“We did our job on the offensive side tonight,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “But obviously, it’s just one win for us.”
Edmonton got a goal shorthanded from Mattias Janmark three minutes in to get the already fired up crowd into it and a 5-on-3 goal later that ended an 0 for 12 drought on the power play in the series.
Stuart Skinner was spectacular at the other end to send the series back to Sunrise for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Combined with winning the last three games in the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers, the Panthers had won six consecutive games before Saturday’s loss.
They now have an opportunity to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, on home ice, Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
