Edmonton Oilers break out in Game 4, stay alive with 8-1 win - ESPN

EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final as part of a four-point performance, and the Edmonton Oilers routed the Florida Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 on Saturday night to avoid being eliminated in a sweep.

The Oilers scored five goals on their first 16 shots to chase playoff MVP candidate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky early in the second period. McDavid had three assists to reach 32 and pass Wayne Gretzky for the most in a single postseason.

«We did our job on the offensive side tonight,» Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. «But obviously, it's just one win for us.»

Whether it was a last-gasp effort in front of a jacked up home crowd hoping to see the start of a historic comeback or the breakthrough coach Kris Knoblauch has been foreshadowing, the Oilers were dominant in every facet of a game they needed to win to keep the NHL season going.

Edmonton scored a short-handed goal from Mattias Janmark three minutes in to get the already fired up crowd even more into it, and a 5-on-3 goal later that ended an 0-for-12 drought on the power play in the series.

Stuart Skinner was spectacular at the other end to send the series back to Sunrise for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Combined with winning the last three games in the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Rangers, the Panthers had won six consecutive games before Saturday's loss.

They now have an opportunity to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup, on home ice Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.