Panthers vs. Oilers, Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final: Instant reaction

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Florida Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Saturday. The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 3-1.

Here are some immediate takeaways from the game by NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers:

Star of the game

After Connor McDavid had three assists in the past two games, he had an outstanding four-point performance (one goal, three assists) in Game 4. In a game Edmonton needed to win to stay alive, the Oilers captain played like a star, helping set up goals by Darnell Nurse, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Dylan Holloway.

Goal of the game

McDavid’s first goal of the Stanley Cup Final was a beauty. Off a turnover from Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Bouchard passed the puck to Zach Hyman, who sent it to McDavid. The Oilers captain never broke stride and snapped one under Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s stick for a 4-1 lead at 1:13 of the second period.

Save of the game

Stuart Skinner had a tremendous save at 12:05 of the first period. With the Oilers up 2-1 after Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored at 11:26, Skinner lunged to his left to make the save on Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, who was trying to finish off a 2-on-1 with Sam Bennett.

What’s next

The Panthers will try to win their first Stanley Cup championship and the Oilers will attempt to once again stave off elimination in Game 5 at Amerant Bank Arena in Florida on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).