Down 3–0, Now Tied 2–2: Hell Of A Final

If you aren't watching the Stanley Cup Final, you'd better have a good excuse. You're missing out on the best Final in the salary cap era (except for the Blackhawks Cups, and that's because I'm biased).

I really thought the Oilers were toast after Game Three. To somehow beat the Florida Panthers at home was a tall order for Game Four. With the Oilers down 3-0 after the first period, there was no way in hell they were going to come back... right?

Matthew Tkachuk scored two power play goals, and Anton Lundell capitalized on an Edmonton turnover in their defensive zone. All the things the Oilers should be avoiding. All in the first period which Florida owned 68% of expected goals.

I mean, this goal was the final nail in the coffin:

Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Stuart Skinner and put Cal Pickard in net. A change was necessary, but once again, this doesn't fall on Skinner's shoulders. Edmonton's defense allowed nine high-danger chances in the first period. The penalties they took, like Evander Kane's penalty, were reckless and undisciplined.

I don't know what was said in the Oilers' locker room, apparently Corey Perry was pissed (probably hazed someone), but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (his best game) scored a power play goal, defenseman Darnell Nurse scored a sexy goal, and Vasily Podkolzin (who had an excellent game) tied things up 3-3. Jake Walman scored in the third to make it a 4-3 game.

Now it looked like the Oilers pulled off the impossible and made a comeback after being down 3-0.

Sam Reinhart, with 20 seconds left, scored a goal to tie it 4-4 and bring it to overtime.

After a thrilling overtime (third in the series), Leon Draisaitl scored to win the game. Making Edmonton the first NHL team in history to win a Stanley Cup Final game after being down 3-0.

And Draisaitl was having a quiet series. Last night, I thought he was one of the best players on the ice. Two goals and an assist, excellent passes, and two nice scoring chances.

Things didn't look great in overtime, however. The Panthers forechecked hard, as usual, and the Oilers struggled to break out. Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak had a long shift just under 1:30. Tired, he made a horrible pass, which created a dangerous scoring chance for Florida.

This is one hell of a series.

Game Five is Saturday night in Edmonton. The series is tied 2-2, and Edmonton now has the advantage with two home games out of the three remaining games. But as we all know, never sleep on the Panthers.