SUNRISE — Leon Draisaitl keeps leaving it late. That's working out just fine for the Oilers.
The big centre's overtime goal Thursday — his record-setting fourth extra-time winner this spring — pushed Edmonton past Florida 5-4 to even the Stanley Cup final at two games apiece.
Draisaitl's breakthrough against Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky on an attempted pass that glanced in off defenceman Niko Mikkola came after the Oilers battled back from a 3-0 first-period deficit before recovering from a blown 4-3 lead late.
"Our group never quits," Draisaitl said after registering a goal and two assists. "We believe that no matter how bad it is, if we get over that hump of adversity, we're going to keep pushing, we're going to keep coming … and eventually it'll break.
"You don't want to be in these situations too many times, but when they happen, I think we're great at it."
Draisaitl has been great for quite some time.
The 29-year-old German now has 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 20 playoff games this spring. He's the fifth player in NHL history to record 30 points in consecutive post-seasons — Draisaitl had 31 across 25 contests in 2024 — joining teammate Connor McDavid (2024-2025), Nikita Kucherov (2020-2021), Mario Lemieux (1991-1992) and Wayne Gretzky (1987-1988, 1983-1985).
"He's as clutch as it gets," said Edmonton netminder Calvin Pickard, who finished with 22 saves after replacing Stuart Skinner to start the second period following that ugly opening. "He's been playing great, always scores big goals at big times."
The Oilers, meanwhile, became just the second road team in NHL history — joining the 1919 Montreal Canadiens — to win a Cup final game after trailing by three or more goals at the end of the first period.
Draisaitl, according to his teammates, was one of the locker-room leaders to stand up and speak up after Monday's brutal 6-1 loss in Game 3 that put the Oilers down in the series 2-1.
"One of the best players in the world for a reason," Edmonton defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "He not only says what he's going to do, he backs it up with his play and his actions. That's what makes him an amazing leader. We get into overtime, those tense moments, and he has an ability to relax in them and just make plays. He gets rewarded for working hard."
The first European-born player to record three playoff years of 30 or more points, Draisaitl is also the second player in league history to record at least 10 goals and 20 assists in multiple post-seasons. Wayne Gretzky did it five times.
"He's just elevated his game in the toughest moments," said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
Draisaitl is also the fifth player in NHL history with multiple overtime goals in the final, and just the third to do it in the same series after also clinching Game 1, alongside Don Raleigh of the New York Rangers in 1950 and John LeClair of the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
"It's incredible," said Oilers winger Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who started the comeback in the second period on a power-play setup from Draisaitl. "He's a horse out there for us … like you've seen, it's just constant, it's consistent. We always can lean on him.
"He always finds a way to get those big ones."
Thursday night in Sunrise was the biggest of the bunch.
SPEAKING UP
Veteran forward Corey Perry, a former Hart Trophy winner as league MVP and a Cup winner in 2007 with Anaheim, addressed the team in the first intermission of Game 4 with Edmonton in that deep hole.
"The message (was) that he's been in these moments," Draisaitl said of the 40-year-old. "He's not a guy that speaks up or yells at guys all the time. That's not his character. You know when a guy like that — with that many games, that much experience, he's won everything there is to win — he knows how to win. When he speaks up, you listen and it grabs your attention."
FRONT-ROW SEAT
Knoblauch was asked Thursday night what it's like to have a front-row seat to a series that has already included three overtime decisions and tremendous action.
"Games like that, it's exhausting," he said with a smile. "It's a roller-coaster, but I do appreciate the level of hockey. Two good teams playing as hard as they are, playing the right way. I do appreciate being so close to the action and seeing what I'm seeing.
"There's a lot on the line, but it is fun."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
