Draisaitl repeats OT heroics with record-breaking goal to even Stanley Cup Final for Oilers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Leon Draisaitl talked the talk.

Then he walked the walk.

Right into the record book.

And because of that, his Edmonton Oilers are tied 2-2 with the Florida Panthers in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final, which now returns to the Alberta capital for Game 5 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX).

When the Oilers were pounded 6-1 by the Panthers in Game 3 Monday, it was Draisaitl who addressed the team afterward, stressing the need to look forward.

In Game 4 Thursday, he practiced what he preached by scoring at 11:18 of overtime to give Edmonton a dramatic 5-4 victory at Amerant Bank Arena. In the process, he made Stanley Cup Playoff history.

It was his fourth overtime goal this spring, the most ever scored by a player in a single postseason. His winner moved him ahead of Mel Hill (Boston Bruins, 1939), Maurice "Rocket" Richard (Montreal Canadiens, 1951), Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks, 2017) and Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers, 2023) who each had three.

Draisaitl, in fact, has been the difference-maker in both Edmonton victories in this series, having scored the OT winner in the Oilers’ 4-3 win in Game 1.

“He’s one of the leaders on this team and one of the best players in the world for a reason,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “He not only says what he’s going to do, he backs up his play and his actions. That’s what makes him an amazing leader.

“I mean, you begin overtime and you have all these tense moments, and he just has this ability to relax and just make plays. And he gets rewarded for working hard.”

To be fair, Draisaitl didn’t feel he or his teammates did that in a first period in which they fell behind 3-0 and looked moribund doing it.

"We wanted to come out strong tonight but they put us on our heels early and we were kind of lollygagging around a little bit,” Draisaitl said. “It's certainly not the time to lollygag around, right, especially after getting spanked in Game 3.”

There was, to use Draisaitl’s term, no “lollygagging” by the Oilers in the second period, thanks in part to his pair of assists that helped the Oilers claw back from that three-goal deficit to tie the game 3-3. After the teams exchanged goals in the third -- with Florida's Sam Reinhart tying the game 4-4 with 20 seconds remaining -- it was time to cue up the 29-year-old’s heroics.

With Panthers forward A.J. Greer draped on his back as he got to the top of the right face-off circle in the Florida zone, Draisaitl -- with one hand on his stick -- shoveled the puck toward Sergei Bobrovsky. As the Panthers goalie prepared to make the save, it deflected off the skate of defenseman Niko Mikkola and through Bobrovsky’s legs to tie the series.

He’s scored more artistic goals to be sure. But never a bigger one.

“I think that once again shows you and tells you that our group never quits, right?” Draisaitl said of the victory. “I think we believe that no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we’re going to keep pushing. We’re going to keep coming, keep coming and, eventually, it’ll break.

“You know, we don’t want to be in these situations too many times. But when they happen, I think we’re great at it.”

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to his two top players, Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. They are tied for the lead in NHL playoff scoring with 32 points each: Draisaitl with 11 goals, 21 assists and McDavid with six goals, 26 assists.

“(Regarding) Leon, I don’t know what could be said that really conveys what he brings to our team, not only just as a player,” Knoblauch said. “He has elevated his play in the toughest moments. Playoffs are tough but look how many overtime goals he’s scored …

“He knew that if we had a chance to get back into this series and change the momentum, our best players had to step up and play well. And I believe all of our best players did that today.”

Starting with Draisaitl.

Again.