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.”