Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman scored second-period goals and Stuart Skinner was great again with 20 saves as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 for their third straight win on Friday night to push the Stanley Cup Final to Game 7.
Warren Foegele also scored and Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse added late empty-net goals to help the Oilers stave off elimination again and even a series that seemed a lost cause a week ago.
Leon Draisaitl remained without a goal in this series but set up Foegele’s early goal that gave Edmonton a lead it would not relinquish, and now it has a chance to complete an improbable comeback Monday night in Sunrise, Florida.
The Oilers are the first team to tie the Cup final after falling behind 3-0 in the series since the Detroit Red Wings in 1945.
Edmonton is a win away from becoming just the second team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after losing the first three games. The only team to do it was the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.
That victory would end Canada’s three-decade-long Cup drought.
Skinner made timely saves despite allowing Aleksander Barkov’s goal early in the third period. He has stopped 81 of 86 shots in the last three games after he gave up nine goals on 68 shots in the first three games of the series.