The Florida Panthers are a win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup as they enter Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. Before the festivities begin, let’s take a look at some stats, facts, and notes for this contest.
Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Panthers – Game 4 Stanley Cup Final
In order to win the Stanley Cup, the Oilers will have to win four games in a row against the Panthers. In NHL history, the only teams to ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series have been the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942, the New York Islanders in 1975, the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010, and the Los Angeles Kings in 2014. Only one of those teams, the 1942 Maple Leafs, did it in the Final.
Of the four teams who have gone down 3-0 in a series in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, all but one of them won in Game 4. The only team that was swept in these playoffs was the Washington Capitals in their first-round series with the New York Rangers.
There have been 14 completed series in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and 10 of them have seen a team even said series (71.4 percent). The Oilers did this twice, once in the second round against the Vancouver Canucks and again in the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.
Since 2015, clubs that have a chance to win the Stanley Cup on the road are 6-1 overall. The only team of those seven who was not able to get a victory was the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021—they lost a road Game 4, but they were victorious in Game 5 at home to win the Cup.
If the Oilers win Game 4, it would be the first time since the expansion era began in 1967-68 that there have been back-to-back seasons with fewer than two best-of-seven sweeps in the playoffs overall. In both 2023 and 2024, there was a single sweep in the postseason.
No player in Panthers history has more points in potential series-clinching contests than Carter Verhaeghe—he has 12 in 10 such instances. Since the start of the 2023 postseason, he has 10 points in nine such games which is the most in the NHL overall—Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Bouchard sit behind him with nine apiece.
When facing elimination, Leon Draisaitl has 16 points in 10 games. With 13 of those being assists, he is tied with Sidney Crosby for the third-most recorded by an active player in their postseason career. Only Patrick Kane (18) and Claude Giroux (14) have more at this time.
Related: 2024 Stanley Cup Final Hub
Draisaitl (16) and Connor McDavid (15) are two of just five players in Oilers history to have 15 or more points when facing elimination. Jari Kurri (19), Glenn Anderson (16), and Mark Messier (16) are the only others.
For the first time since Feb. 21 through Feb. 24, the Oilers are on a three-game losing streak—they followed that up with five wins in a row. For the first time since Dec. 14 through Dec. 19, Edmonton has lost three games in a row solely in regulation—they followed that up with 16 wins in a row, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak ever recorded.
Stats and facts courtesy of NHL PR
