Oilers erase 3-0 series deficit, beat Panthers to force Game 7 in Stanley Cup final
CBC
Connor McDavid dragged his team back into the Stanley Cup fight.
Edmonton's supporting cast grabbed the reins from their superstar captain Friday.
Now the Oilers are one win from history. And the Panthers sit one loss from infamy.
Zach Hyman scored his playoff-leading 16th goal and Stuart Skinner made 20 saves as Edmonton defeated visiting Florida 5-1 on Friday to force Game 7.
"The league's too good," Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl said. "You need depth, you need other guys to step up. We've had that throughout the run."
Warren Foegele, with a goal and an assist, and Adam Henrique provided the rest of the offence before Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse added empty netters for Edmonton, which has stormed back with three consecutive victories to tie the title series after going down 3-0.
WATCH l Henrique scores winner as Oilers take Game 6:
Used to seeing his name in bright lights, Draisaitl had just two assists in the series entering Game 6 before setting up Foegele's opener as one of 11 players — none of them named McDavid — to find the scoresheet.
"It's been a hell of a story so far," said the German, who was critical of himself Friday morning. "Really proud to give ourselves a chance."
Aleksander Barkov replied for the Panthers — a group that will head home searching for answers with their stranglehold on hockey's holy grail having evaporated. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots.
"We have good moments in the games," said Barkov, whose team will host the winner-take-all finale Monday in Sunrise, Fla. "We gotta take those to the next game."
Edmonton is looking to become only the fifth team in NHL history to win a best-of-seven showdown after trailing 3-0 — and just the second in the Cup final, joining the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.
"The job is not done," Hyman said. "Everybody will forget if we don't finish it."
A win by the Oilers in the final game of the 2023-24 season would also mark the end to Canada's 30-year Cup drought dating back to the 1993 Montreal Canadiens' victory over Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.