Best Oilers Goals of 2024-25: Last-minute heroics in the playoffs

Unfortunately, the tie game didn’t last long, as Phillip Danault scored 46 seconds later, as his shot was deflected, fluttering over Stuart Skinner’s head to give the Kings the game-winner. The Oilers went down 3-0 in Game 2, fought back to make it 3-2, but allowed four consecutive goals to go down 2-0 in the series.

With the series shifting to Edmonton, the Oilers were down 4-3 after a late second period goal from the Kings. With just under seven minutes left, Evander Kane tied it, and after a failed coaches challenge, Evan Bouchard scored just 10 seconds later to give the Oilers a 5-4 lead en route to a 7-4 win.

They weren’t out of danger from the Kings getting a stranglehold on the series entering Game 4. Trevor Moore scored midway through the first, and Warren Foegele made it a 2-0 game. Corey Perry cut the lead in half, but the Kings restored their lead just over three minutes later. About eight minutes into the third, Bouchard scored to bring the Oilers within one, setting up the second goal we’ll look at.

Instead of chipping the puck out of the zone, Kings forward Quinton Byfield attempted to skate the puck out of the zone, turning it over. Had he gotten the puck out, the Oilers likely would have been eliminated by the Kings. Instead, the Oilers forced a turnover, and after Bouchard elected to pass to Draisaitl, he got the puck right back and blasted it past Kuemper to tie the game at three. Easily my favourite goal from the entire postseason run.

Vladislav Gavrikov took a penalty late in the first overtime period, and the Oilers took advantage of it by scoring the game-winner. They then went on to dominate the Kings in Game 5 and won the series in six with a 6-4 victory.

After that, they played the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, winning the first two games. Draisaitl deflected the puck into his own net with less than a second left on the clock in Game 3, but the Oilers responded with two consecutive shutouts to win the series. They continued the domination against the Stars, falling in Game 1, before winning the next four games.

This set up a Stanley Cup rematch against the Florida Panthers. The Oilers won Game 1 thanks to Draisaitl’s third overtime goal of the postseason. With a chance to take a stranglehold of the series, Sam Bennett scored just two minutes into the game to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. It was the Oilers who scored the next two goals, but their lead didn’t last long as Seth Jones tied it just over two minutes later. And then the Oilers retook the lead a minute later thanks to Draisaitl’s 10th of the postseason.

In the second period, Dmitry Kulikov scored midway through it to tie up the game, followed by Brad Marchand scoring a short-handed goal with just under eight minutes left in the period. The Panthers played shutdown hockey for the remainder of the second and most of the third, until another last-minute goal.

With about 20 seconds left in the game, Jake Walman took a shot from the point, which was saved by Sergei Bobrovsky. The puck bounced out to the slot, and somehow, Perry got a stick on it to chop it over the Panthers’ netminder to send the game to overtime.

Unfortunately, the Oilers fell in double overtime as Marchand scored his second goal of the game . The “what if” questions arise once again, such as what if Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were healthy? What if a very clear too many men penalty was called on the Panthers in the second overtime?

The Oilers allowed a last-minute goal of their own to the Panthers in Game 4, but were able to score an overtime winner to tie the series up at two. Sadly, the rest of the series didn’t go the Oilers’ way.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.