EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid scored, “La Bamba” played in the Edmonton Oilers locker room and the Stanley Cup Final is heading back to Florida after a statement win.

McDavid scored his first goal of the series as part of a four-point performance, and Stuart Skinner was spectacular in making 32 saves as the Oilers routed the Florida Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 on Saturday night, chasing Sergei Bobrovsky and avoiding a sweep. Game 5 is Tuesday in Sunrise.

“It’s just one win,” McDavid said. “That’s all it is, whether you score eight or you score one. It’s just one win. We’ve got to go to Florida and do a job and drag them back to Alberta.”

The Panthers’ party will have to wait after a complete meltdown from a team with many players who have never been this close to hoisting the Cup. Bobrovsky was pulled five minutes into the second period after allowing five goals on 16 shots — more than he gave up in the first three games of the series combined.

“It had nothing to do with ‘Bob,'” Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “It was more of a wake-up call to everybody. We know he’s going to come back better than ever.”

Whether it was a last-gasp effort in front of a jacked up home crowd hoping to see the start of a historic comeback or the breakthrough coach Kris Knoblauch has been foreshadowing, the Oilers were dominant in every facet of a game they needed to win.

It started with Mattias Janmark scoring 3:11 in on a 2-on-1 rush with Connor Brown. Janmark staked Edmonton to a two-goal lead less than five minutes later, setting up Adam Henrique for his second career goal in the Cup Final 12 years after the game winner for New Jersey that also prevented a sweep in the Final.

The odds remain long for the Oilers, given that the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team to erase a 3-0 deficit at this stage of the playoffs and only four teams total have ever done it.

“Obviously that was a massive win, but we still know what the circumstances are,” said Dylan Holloway, who had two goals after not scoring since the second round. “We’re still down 3-1. The biggest thing for us is kind of just to forget that and use it, bottle it kind of, keep notice that [we] can do it but just move forward.”

The belief will certainly be tangible after breaking out offensively and building a lead rather than holding on to protect it, a quality they had in spades through the first three rounds to win the Western Conference. Florida cutting its deficit to one on Vladimir Tarasenko‘s goal midway through the first period did not cause Edmonton to fold, with Skinner making the most important save of the night on Carter Verhaeghe on a 2-on-1 chance and Holloway answering before intermission.

“He was great,” McDavid said of Skinner. “You talk about goaltending and needing timely saves. He made some really timely saves. That was as big a save as you’re going to get.”

The offense just kept coming. McDavid, the reigning and three-time NHL MVP, beat Bobrovsky early in the second and minutes later set up Darnell Nurse for the defenseman’s first goal of the playoffs. That sent the goalie known as Bob to the bench amid derisive chants of “Sergei! Sergei!” as Anthony Stolarz came in for his postseason debut.

The Panthers, hours after family members arrived for a potential celebration more than 2,500 miles from home, took their frustrations out in a handful of post-whistle scrums. One of them gave the Oilers’ power play more target practice, and the unit that came into the final looking nearly automatic but started 0-for-12 in this series made them pay with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring on the 5-on-3 advantage.

“I’m not counting 5-on-3,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said.

McDavid’s three assists Saturday gave him 32 total for this run, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record from 1988 for the most in a single postseason. McDavid had more points Saturday night than in the first three games of the series combined, and he was the Oilers’ leading scorer while other top players were quiet.

“He just continues to impress everyone,” Knoblauch said. “It was a great performance.”

At even strength and on the power play, another adjustment by Knoblauch paid off for Edmonton’s rookie coach. He moved Nugent-Hopkins down to play with Leon Draisaitl, and each of the first two lines scored a big goal.

The outburst and a comfortable lead got fans going with everything from “We want seven!” to a singalong of Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life.” They got it when Holloway scored with under six minutes left and some extra when Ryan McLeod added the exclamation point with the eighth goal with 3:19 on the clock.

Skinner also heard “STUUUU!” plenty as he had his best game of the final, denying the Panthers on several high-quality scoring chances as they tried to get back into it.

The confidence in the possibility of extending the series that was evident inside the home locker room extended around downtown Edmonton. A fresh sign reading, “BELIEVE” was added to a window around the corner from Rogers Place on Saturday.

Inside, one fan held up a sign reading, “So you’re saying there’s a chance?” And now the Oilers have another chance to put pressure on the Panthers with the series returning to South Florida.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Florida Panthers said their blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final was a learning experience.

What a harsh education it was: Losing 8-1 on Saturday night, watching their star goaltender get pulled, and squandering a chance to win the Cup in a series sweep.

“We either win or we learn,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “It only counts as one win. It doesn’t matter how much you lose — whether it’s 2-1 or 8-1. Obviously, we need to bounce back. We need to recover now and think about the next one.”

The Panthers had not been beaten that emphatically all postseason. In fact, the Oilers made NHL history in the win, tying the 1918 Vancouver Millionaires for the largest margin of victory when facing elimination in Stanley Cup Final. They were one goal away from the tying the largest margin of victory in Stanley Cup Final history, a record eight goals set by the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Minnesota North Stars in 1991.

Florida coach Paul Maurice downplayed the blowout loss.

“I’ll fire up at least once cliche for you: We came into Edmonton to get a split and we got what we needed,” he said. “But most cliches have some merit to it. In general, things will be far more extreme outside your room than inside it. So at 3-0 (in the series), we’re not sitting there, getting the engravers out. We lost the game tonight.”

Edmonton couldn’t have scripted a bigger reversal of fortune after three straight losses.

Their star center, Connor McDavid, had a four-point night, setting an NHL record for most assists in a single postseason (32) in the process. His 38 points are fifth all-time in a single postseason.

Their other standout offensive players hit the score sheet for the first time in the series, as Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard all recorded their first points against the Panthers. The Oilers power play finally converted, having now gone 1-for-16 in the series – although Maurice said he’s “not counting” that one, as it was scored on a 5-on-3 power play.

Perhaps most of all, they chased goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, scoring five goals on 16 shots against the netminder. That gave them seven goals in their last three periods vs. the previously impenetrable goalie, who entered Game 4 with a .953 save percentage in the series.

“He’d have enough,” said Maurice, who replaced Bobrovsky with Anthony Stolarz at 4:59 of the second period. “My number on Bob’s probably five (goals) in general. So that’s (a) steady decision.”

Winger Matthew Tkachuk said he’s not worried about carry over to Game 5 for Bobrovsky.

“We gave up eight goals, and zero of them were the goalie’s fault,” he said. “(Bobrovsky) has been unbelievable all year, all playoffs. That was more of a wake-up call to the forwards and the D as opposed to [him]. It had nothing to do with Bob. We know he’s going to come back better than ever and with that being said, none of them were his fault.”

The Panthers had a chance to win the Stanley Cup in a sweep. The chalice was in the building. The players said that wasn’t a distraction. Their coach acknowledged it presented a different kind of challenge.

“It’s the first opportunity that we’ve had as a franchise really to feel the two (past) days — the excitement of it, the emotions of it. We’ll learn how to channel it. That’s all part of this process,” he said.

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida.

Oilers captain Connor McDavid set the NHL record for most assists in a single postseason, picking up his 32nd on Saturday night during Edmonton’s 8-1 win over the visiting Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

McDavid broke the record previously held by Hall of Fame center Wayne Gretzky, who led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup titles in his tenure in Edmonton. Gretzky posted 31 assists in the 1988 postseason.

The Oilers’ victory trimmed their Final deficit to 3-1, and also featured McDavid’s first goal of the series. He finished with three assists, and four points, as Edmonton forced a Game 5 on Tuesday in Sunrise, Florida.

“Very high, just because of what was at stake,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said, when asked where this performance ranks on his list of great nights for McDavid. “An elimination game, here in the Final, he just continues to impress everyone, quite a night for him to set the record and we’re obviously very happy for him to be part of that. But yeah, he just keeps on making plays and scoring goals, making assists, whatever, but yeah, it was a great performance.”

McDavid now has 38 points this postseason, the most by an active player in a single postseason and tied for fifth most ever. He has 23 points in games following a loss this postseason, passing Doug Gilmour (20 in 1993) for the most in one playoff year.

All told Saturday, he helped to ignite an offense that had shown serious signs of wear and tear earlier in the series.

“It’s just one win,” McDavid said. “That’s all it is. It doesn’t matter if you score eight or if you score one. It’s just one win and we’ve got to go to Florida and do a job and drag them back to Alberta.”

Along the way, he also became the first player since 1987 to record four points in a Stanley Cup Final game when facing elimination. And he did so on a night, when the intimidating power-play unit that he’s on, delivered a goal in six tries.

“We’ve had lots of looks over the first four games, certainly created enough to have a couple go in,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “It’s just not the way the game works sometimes. I’m just proud of the way we always stick with it, continue to work at it, and stay work based. Hopefully we can build off that a little bit.”

Information from ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.