Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers have to put their Stanley Cup parade on hold. Florida entered Game 4 needing one victory to win the Stanley Cup Final. However, the Edmonton Oilers came alive with their backs against the wall. Connor McDavid scored four points and set a new postseason record as his team defeated Florida 8-1.
After the game, Tkachuk did not dwell on the negatives. Instead, the Panthers star spoke about some positive aspects of this loss. His team still has a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Oilers. And Game 5 sees the series shift back to Florida where Panthers fans are certainly going to be loud in support of their team.
“We’re in an unbelievable spot right now. We came here and after all that craziness got a split. Now we’re going home [to play] in front of our unbelievable fans. They’re so excited to see us and we’re so excited to play in front of them again,” Tkachuk said, via Florida's senior digital content manager Jameson Olive.
Panthers implode in Game 4
Florida played well in the early stages of the first period, but the Oilers struck first. Mattias Janmark scored while Edmonton was shorthanded to give his team a 1-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, Adam Henrique scored to make it a 2-0 hockey game.
The Panthers did show a bit of life, though. Florida got a goal from veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko to pull the game within one. However, Edmonton was not going to allow Florida any sort of momentum. Dylan Holloway scored the first of his two goals in this contest to make it 3-1 entering the first intermission.
In the second period, it was all Oilers. Connor McDavid scored to give his team a 4-1 lead. Later, defenseman Darnell Nurse scored this first goal of these Stanley Cup Playoffs to make it 5-1. Then, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins joined the part has he scored Edmonton's first power play goal of the series.
The Panthers simply had no answer for Edmonton on Saturday night. Third period goals from Holloway and Ryan McLeod simply piled onto the blowout. The Oilers skated away with their first win of the series and a new lease on life in the Stanley Cup Final.
Florida reacts to Stanley Cup Final blowout
Matthew Tkachuk makes a great point. The Panthers are still in a rather envious position. Despite their loss on Saturday, they remain in control of the Stanley Cup Final. Their next win sees Florida lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
As a result, the Panthers aren't sweating this loss too much. It certainly stings, that much is clear. But they have time to process what went wrong and regroup. That's exactly what this team is aiming to do before Game 5 on Tuesday.
“It was the first opportunity that we’ve had as a franchise to feel the two days [before a clinching game], the excitement of it, the emotion of it. We’ll learn how to channel that. That’s all part of this process,” head coach Paul Maurice said, via Olive.
Tkachuk also took time to defend his goaltenders. Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled from Game 4 after allowing five goals. And Anthony Stolarz allowed three goals in relief of him. But in Tkachuk's eyes, the puck-stoppers did what they were supposed to do. “We gave up eight goals and zero of them were the goalies’ fault,” he said, via Olive.
The Panthers and Oilers take the ice once again on Tuesday night. Will Matthew Tkachuk raise the Stanley Cup in Florida? Or will Connor McDavid and the Oilers force a Game 6 in Edmonton? Hockey fans can tune into the contest at 8 PM Eastern Time on ESPN or ABC.
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