Cote: Florida Panthers blow lead, command of Stanley Cup Final in 5-4 OT loss to Edmonton | Opinion
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice carved out a moment for emotion in the maelstrom of a Stanley Cup Final the other day as his team prepared for Game 4 on Thursday night.
Father’s Day came up.
“He’s the guy who got me into the game. Taught me how to skate,” said Maurice, 58. “Dad turns 87 this year. My Mom is 85. They watch hockey every night. My sons have even a greater love for the game than I do, and now I get to share the game with them — and that is what I value by far more than anything else.”
You know what might rank a close second to family?
A second straight Stanley Cup Final championship.
That rose into clear view Thursday night. A prize not yet accomplished, but locked into focus. Close enough to feel.
And then it ran away.
Florida squandered a 3-0 lead only to lose in overtime Thursday night at home on a Leon Draisaitl goal that gave Edmonton a 5-4 victory and a 2-2 tie in the Final as the series heads back to Canada for Game 5 Saturday.
Maurice was asked if it’s good to play again so soon.
“Better if we won it,” he said. “You take the pain, eat it, use it and come back.”
The Panthers had their own miracle on ice on Sam Reinhart’s sharp-angle goal from the left that found its way inside the net with 19.5 seconds left in regulation as a crowd ready to file out dejected erupted with sonic joy. Matthew Tkachuk’s pass fed Reinhart, and he dined sumptuously.
The TNT camera showed superstar guest fan Taylor Swift beside Travis Kelce in a suite with her familiar look of disbelief. She had company.
It was the third sudden-death overtime in four Final games.
But Draisaitl’s OT goal sent the home crowd home dejected after all.
Both of the Panthers’ Final losses have been painful to see. In Game 1 Florida failed to protect a 3-1 lead and lost in overtime. This collapse was worse. Twice now as they chase a repeat title, the champions’ killer instinct has been lacking as the Oilers’ fight and resolve have shone through.
Thursday’s killer was Jake Walman’s tie-breaking goal with 6:24 to play -- but Reinhart’s miracle shot answered.
Then came Draisaitl’s crowd-silencer -- after Sam Bennett had nearly ended the OT with Florida on top, his rocket-shot deflected by the goalie’s glove and ricocheting off the crossbar.
“Everything is dangerous all the time. You get three games of four in overtime in a Final where you’ve got two evenly matched teams,” said Maurice afterward, his voice unusually hoarse. “It’s as good as this thing gets. This is Christmas. This is the payoff. This is truly the juice that you live for. Two overtime losses, they’re painful. But it’s a best two out of three now. It’s great for fans. Best players in the world for sure.”
Said Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch of this taut series: “It’s exhausting. It’s a roller coaster. I do appreciate the level of hockey. Two great teams playing as hard as they are. It’s stressful. There’s a lot on the line. Now a big Game 5 is coming.”
For Florida more than a game was lost on this night. The Panthers’ clear path to another Cup was, too.
Protect that early 3-0 lead and the Cats are holding a commanding 3-1 series lead today, with an ability to win the Cup on Edmonton ice in Game 5 Saturday. The Panthers are chasing a second straight title run against the Oilers that would be only South Florida sports’ third ever back-to-back pro championships, after the Miami Dolphins in 1972-73 and the Heat in 2012-13.
Teams with a 3-1 series lead in NHL postseason history go on to win 91% of the time, and it’s slightly higher in the Final.
That’s how close Florida was to being in command.
The dynasty and the dying dream — both were so close ... until they weren’t.
The dynasty talk you could have almost heard at 3-1.
And the dying dream if down 3-1 would be chasing Edmonton — and especially superstar Connor McDavid. The Oilers are after that franchise’s first crown since 1990, and Canada’s first Cup since ‘93. McDavid — McJesus, the next Gretzky, consensus best player in the NHL — is still missing the one big prize that has eluded him.
It got closer for him Thursday, just as the Panthers’ repeat title got further away, and harder to make happen.
Maurice had said after Thursday’s morning skate, “I think this will be the most disciplined game of the series,” after 17 penalties in Game 3 including 11 awarded to Florida and three cashed for goals.
The coach was partly right. The Cats had discipline. The Oilers were off the rails again, with three first-period penalties turned into a pair of goals for the Panthers, both by Tkachuk.
Mid-period Tkachuk’s snap shot seconds into a 5-on-3 advantage made the horn blast at 1-0, assisted by Aleksander Barkov.
Five minutes later it was 2-0 on another Tkachuk power-play score, this one aided by Reinhart and Barkov.
There had been speculation Tkachuk still wasn’t 100% after injuring himself in the 4 Nations Face-Off and missing several weeks. That speculation was jettisoned to the past tense Thursday.
The 3-0 cushion came with 41.7 seconds left in the first, even strength, as Carter Verhaeghe dodged being plowed into the boards and sent a beautiful feed from behind the net to a charging Anton Lundell with the perfect finish.
“They put us on our heels early,” said the eventual hero Draisaitl. “We were kind of lolly-gagging around a little bit. Not the time to lolly-gag after we got spanked in Game 3.”
That 3-0 first made it a 9-1 advantage for Florida in the past four periods as the Oilers were rocked and reeling ... but not finished.
“It tells you our group never quits,” Draisaitl said. “We keep coming and keep coming. Fatigue kicks in at some point but adrenaline takes over.”
Edmonton changed goaltenders between periods and stormed to a 3-3 tie in a second period that was the Cats’ turn to get bit sloppy, and the Oilers’ turn to dominate.
Sam Bennett in the penalty box for slashing led to a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power-play goal to shave the Oilers deficit to 3-1 three minutes into the second.
Dmitry Kulikov’s holding penalty soon after gifted Edmonton another advantage, but the Panthers were good on the kill.
Edmonton drew within 3-2 when Darnell Nurse went top-shelf over Sergei Bobrovsky’s left shoulder, then tied it 3-3 later in the second on a Vasily Podkolzin backhander as the home crowd went stunned-quiet.
Then came Walman’s late, apparent winning goal for Edmonton to make it 4-3.
“We were slow, too passive, watching the play develop too much,” said Reinhart of Florida’s second period. “It’s an emotional grind, that’s part f it.”
It was Reinhart’s miracle with a tick under 20 seconds left in regulation that forced another OT.
But the final shot, the final word on the night, belonged to Draisaitl and the Oilers.
Now the Panthers, tied 2-2, prepare for a quick turnaround and Game 5 in Edmonton, and for Florida the long flight just got longer.
Saturday’s result will mean the Panthers can win another Stanley Cup or face elimination in Game 6 back in Sunrise on Tuesday.
“We gotta go in there [in Edmonton] and win one eventually,” said Takchuk. “So hopefully it’s Game 5.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 11:49 PM.
