Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 23: Oilers, Leafs respond with Game 4 wins

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 23: Oilers, Leafs respond with Game 4 wins
Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Both of Canada’s chances at a Stanley Cup weren’t in the best spot going into this second day of Game 4 action in the second round, but the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers got the response that they needed, although it’s safe to say that the Oilers are a bit more in the clear still.

Let’s dive into the action, even though we got yet another blowout in this second round.

Nylander, Marner finally give Leafs’ core four some goals as they avoid a sweep with 2-1 win

It’s hard to undersell how important this game was for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Outside of the obvious factor of them being eliminated if they lost, there was also a lot that the team needed to prove, particularly that core group of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander. It hasn’t been a great series for the team, especially in Game 3 where they needed to play their best, and they needed a response not just to stay alive, but prove they had some fight left in them.

The Leafs made a couple changes for Game 4, but the biggest story was that Joseph Woll was starting with Ilya Samsonov still hurt, a real vote of confidence for the young netminder with two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray sitting on the bench as the backup. That proved to be the smart choice, as the first time playoff starter played like it was his 100th playoff game. The Leafs played well in front of him, but when the Florida Panthers had their looks, he held his own.

That was important in another low-scoring affair in this series, as it took until 3:29 into the second period for the first goal of the game, with William Nylander scoring on the Leafs first power play since Game 2 on a lucky bounce off of the post, Sergei Bobrovsky, and in, but I doubt you’ll hear him complain. Mitch Marner added to the lead midway through the third period with his first of the series, and also his second goal ever in the playoffs beyond Game 2 in a series, and the Leafs had a 2-0 lead.

That two goal lead lasted all of 2:10, as Sam Reinhart buried the second chance of his own shot trickling through Woll’s pads on the power play to make it 2-1. However, the Leafs played a tight-nit shutdown game and didn’t give the Panthers too many big chances, and they took the game 2-1 to live for another game. The goalies were the stars of the show, with Bobrovsky playing well again in the loss by stopping 23 of 25, while Woll stopped 24 of 25 to get the win in his first career start.

Game 4 sees scrappy final minutes as Oilers tie series with 4-1 win

The Vegas Golden Knights sucked all the momentum out of the Edmonton Oilers going into Game 4. Not only did they regain the series lead, they did so in blowout fashion in Edmonton’s rink, and managed to chase Stuart Skinner out of the net. The Oilers still had a bit of leverage with goaltender Laurent Brossoit out and Adin Hill starting his first playoff game, but he was solid in relief in Game 3, so it wasn’t a sure thing.

Luckily for them, that leverage worked out. The Oilers dominated in the first, almost doubling Vegas in shots 11-6, out-attempting them at 5v5 18-5, and even had an 11-2 edge in scoring chances and 82.07% of the expected goals, and that paid off on the scoreboard as well. It took a bit over six minutes, but then two goals in 52 seconds from Nick Bjugstad and Evan Bouchard really got the momentum going, and a bomb from Mattias Ekholm later in the period seemed to already put the game out of reach.

The Oilers continued to drive play in the second period, but the offense slowed down a bit due to several power plays for the Golden Knights. That still didn’t stop Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from scoring with a bit over five minutes left in the period, finally getting his first goal of the post season.

Vegas got on the board in the third period with a goal from Nicholas Roy, but that was about all they mustered in terms of a comeback. However, the action was from over, as Alex Pietrangelo slashed Leon Draisaitl on an extremely dirty play, and Connor McDavid went after the Vegas defenseman to defend his teammate, although unfortunately not quite fighting. Shortly after, Darnell Nurse and Nicholas Hague got into an official fight, and it was clear that these teams did not like each other.

After that chaos, that was it for the action, with the Oilers winning the game 4-1 and tying the series heading back to Vegas. Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist while McDavid had two assists to lead both teams in scoring, and Skinner rebounded well with 25 saves on 26 shots in the win.

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