The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by forward Leon Draisaitl during the second period against the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place.Perry Nelson/Reuters
Just as they had against the Canucks, the Oilers escaped another possible 3-1 series deficit on Wednesday with a 5-2 victory over the Stars at Rogers Place.
Edmonton now heads back to Dallas for Game 5 on Friday with a chance to gain a foothold in the Western Conference final. Another win would leave it in a position to close out the third round on home ice on Sunday.
The winner of the best-of-seven advances to the Stanley Cup finals. Edmonton last got that far in 2006, when it was defeated by Carolina. A Canadian team has not lifted the cup since 1993, when the Canadiens beat the Los Angeles Kings.
In the third period the partisan crowd chanted “We want the cup” over and over again. Nearly an hour after the game, cars streamed past the arena with horns blaring.
This continues to be a crazy – and entertaining – matchup. There is no telling what will happen from one game, one period – or shift – to the next.
The Stars scored just 58 seconds into the contest and held a 2-0 advantage before the Oilers registered their first shot. With goals by Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard they forged a 2-2 tie after 20 minutes.
It was sluggish for a bit of the second as each club appeared wary to make a mistake. But Edmonton then busted loose for two goals in 51 seconds and went into the second intermission with a two-goal lead.
Mattias Janmark scored short-handed with 5:29 remaining in the second as the Oilers were killing off a holding penalty on Derek Ryan. Connor Brown and Mattias Ekholm were awarded assists.
Leon Draisaitl buried one less than a minute later following passes from Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid. It was McDavid’s second helper of three on the evening. He leads the playoffs with 28 points. The goal was Draisaitl’s tenth of the playoffs and he is second behind McDavid with 26 points.
The Oilers fell behind Vancouver 2-1 in the second round and came back to win in seven games. This time, however, they had lost two in a row for the first time during the 2023-2024 playoffs.
“We have a lot of belief that we can respond well in these situations,” McDavid, Edmonton’s captain, said following the morning skate. “I have no doubt we will do the same tonight.”
It didn’t exactly happen quite so easily.
Edmonton came out flat-footed and gave up a goal to Wyatt Johnston 58 seconds after the opening puck drop. Then a shot by Logan Stankoven deflected off Darnell Nurse’s derriere and into the net with 14:31 to go in the first period.
“I think we came out a little sleepy,” Draisaitl said.
From then on, the Oilers dominated.
“You couldn’t ask for more,” Corey Perry, Edmonton’s 39-year-old forward, said. “We responded well. We just kept our foot on the pedal and plugged away.”
Inserted back into the lineup after sitting out one game, McLeod got Edmonton on the board with his first goal of the post-season. It came on a rebound of a shot by Perry. Nurse was also credited with an assist.
Bouchard then tied it at 2-2 when he netted a rebound off a shot by McDavid. It was Bouchard’s sixth goal and 23rd point during the playoffs. The goals by Janmark, Draisaitl and an empty-netter by Ekholm in the third followed.
Edmonton, which has had trouble maintaining leads, closed things out nicely.
“That’s a huge step,” Perry said. “You learn from things that happened in the past. In the third, we did the right things here.”
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch shook up his lineup for Game 4, and moves proved to be fruitful. He scratched defenceman Vincent Desharnais and forwards Warren Foegele and Sam Carrick. Philip Broberg, who has spent much of the last three seasons in the American Hockey League, drew in in place of Desharnais. McLeod and Perry were inserted in place of Foegele and Carrick.
McLeod and Perry contributed a goal and an assist between them.
Stuart Skinner, who allowed four goals on 21 shots in Game 3, started again in the crease. A misplay on his part allowed Jason Robertson to score the winner for Dallas on Monday.
In the second round, Skinner was benched for two games and replaced by backup Calvin Pickard. And in this series Jake Oettinger of Dallas had been better than him until Wednesday night.
After a tough start Skinner settled down and played well enough for the Oilers to have a chance to get back in the game. He finished with 20 saves. Oettinger stopped 24 of 28 attempts.
“I think he has had a great series,” Knoblauch said of Skinner earlier in the day. “I know he would want the goal that went in on him back in Game 3 but overall he has played well. We need that kind of goaltending to give ourselves a chance.”
Edmonton won the opener 3-2 on a McDavid goal in double overtime but then lost 3-1 and 5-3, including blowing a 2-0 lead in Game 3. But the Oilers are now 5-1 in playoff games following a loss since they were swept by Colorado in the 2022 conference final. The Avalanche went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.
There was a lot to appreciate in this skirmish if one follows the Oilers.
Defenceman Nurse, who has been on the hot seat this postseason, had 12 hits and blocked three shots to go along with his assist. Adam Henrique, a third-line centre, went 12-4 in faceoffs. Ekholm had an empty netter in the third, plus the assist.
So the series is now tied at two wins a piece. The Oilers’ confidence is buoyed after Wednesday’s performance.
“I think every win gives you a little more belief,” Draisaitl said. “But at this point in the season all four remaining teams have a lot of belief. We know how good a team we are when we put everything together. We are hard to beat.”