GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Stars 2 (Game 4)

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers showcased their determination on Wednesday by scoring five consecutive goals to overturn an early two-goal deficit, securing a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. This win ties the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

"I think every win gives you a little bit more belief, but I said a couple of days ago that I think every team at this point of the year that's still playing has a lot of belief in what they do. I think we're obviously one of those teams," said Leon Draisaitl.

"We know how good we can be, and when we put everything together, we're a tough team to beat, but so are all the other three teams that are still playing. Four really good teams are still playing, and we're one of them."

Despite the Stars' early momentum, scoring twice within the first 5:29 of regulation, the Oilers quickly responded. Goals from Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard near the end of the first period leveled the score. Edmonton then took control during 51 seconds in the second period with a short-handed goal from Mattias Janmark and Draisaitl's 10th goal of the playoffs.

"It's funny in the playoffs how the psychology works," Draisaitl noted. "It was a really flat start from us, but right after they scored that second one, we said we were in that position two days ago and 'Let's flip the script on them.'

"You get the first one, and then you get rolling. It's hard to explain why it works that way, but it's nice to be able to do that."

The Oilers extended their penalty-kill streak to 23 in a row with a critical kill late in the third period. Janmark's short-handed goal proved to be the game-winner, and Mattias Ekholm sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes.

Stuart Skinner made 20 saves on 22 shots, earning the victory, while captain Connor McDavid contributed three assists.

Edmonton received significant secondary contributions, with Ryan McLeod and Corey Perry adding points after being reinserted into the lineup.

"When you do get pulled out of the lineup, it's a tough pill to swallow, but you put that aside and when your name does get called again, you come in and just work hard," Perry said. "For myself and Clouder, it was about being hard on the puck, winning our battles and that's all we're trying to do."

The series now shifts back to Dallas for Game 5 at the American Airlines Center on Friday.

FIRST PERIOD

The first 20 minutes at Rogers Place on Wednesday night encapsulated the series' ongoing momentum shifts, with no end in sight.

"You've seen this right through the series where both teams have absolutely dominated, and then the other team has dominated," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch observed. "It's been back and forth, and we didn't have our start. When you're down 2-0 in a game like this, it's hard to overcome, but I think we just got back to the way we were supposed to be playing."

The Stars seized an early lead just 58 seconds into the match. Jamie Benn's long pass found Wyatt Johnston behind Edmonton's defense, setting up an odd-man rush. Johnston capitalized with a precise shot over Stuart Skinner's glove, scoring on Dallas' first shot.

Edmonton's troubles deepened just over four minutes later. Esa Lindell's seemingly harmless wrist shot from the point deflected off Darnell Nurse and slipped between Skinner's right pad and blocker, giving Dallas a surprising two-goal lead and stunning the home crowd.

"I was thinking it was going to be a long night," Knoblauch admitted. "It didn't look very good. Things weren't going our way. They looked much sharper making plays."

But this is playoff hockey, and Edmonton's fightback began by winning the next battle and building momentum shift by shift, ultimately swinging it back in favor of the Blue & Orange.

"I think we had guys jumping over the boards trying to get momentum back," Brown said. "You don't need to make a flashy play or anything – just simple and hard, win your battles, win your races, and we were able to take the momentum back."

"I think maybe we were a little sleepy for a couple minutes there," Draisaitl admitted. "I would say maybe a little unfortunate too on the second one, but we found our legs, got going a little bit, started to play our game, and stayed fresh and rolled lines. We're a tough team to handle when we play that way."

Ryan McLeod energized the crowd at Rogers Place when he marked his return to the lineup by putting away a loose puck that was sitting on Jake Oettinger's left pad. Oettinger couldn't spot it before McLeod flipped it into the back of the net for his first goal of the playoffs, cutting Dallas' lead to 2-1 with 6:30 left in the period.

Corey Perry, who was re-added to the lineup along with McLeod and placed on the second line with Draisaitl, notched the primary assist, contributing significantly to the game.

"Yeah, really good. It was obviously very smart," Draisaitl said of Knoblauch's decision-making. "[Perry] has I don't know how many playoff games under his belt, so he brings a lot of maturity and is a very smart hockey player. I thought all the guys that came in, which is not easy to do at this time of year, did a great job tonight."

"It's not easy," Brown said of Knoblauch's coaching. "It's his first time in the playoffs and he's making gutsy calls, and credit to the guys. It's not easy to come from the press box and go straight onto the second line playing on Leo's wing, but they did an unbelievable job. That line was the best for us tonight, and it was a gutsy win. When you get trust from your coach, it empowers you."

The Oilers maintained their momentum and found the tying goal 2:47 later. Zach Hyman won a stick battle in the neutral zone against Miro Heiskanen, creating an opportunity for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to secure the puck and pass to his captain inside the Stars' zone.

McDavid attacked from the right circle and sent a low shot off Oettinger's right pad, which rebounded perfectly for Bouchard, who buried it to notch his sixth goal of the playoffs, tying the game at 2-2 before the first intermission.

Bouchard earned his 23rd point of the playoffs, now ranking second in points by an Oilers defenseman in a single playoff run. His 17 assists tie him with Charlie Huddy for the second-most assists in a single postseason in franchise history.

SECOND PERIOD

The series has been defined by momentum swings, and in the second period, the Oilers took control, fueled by the first special-teams goal from either side in the series, and it came unexpectedly.

Edmonton's penalty kill has been outstanding in the 2024 playoffs, successfully killing 23 straight penalties. This streak continued nearly 13 minutes into the second period, despite Derek Ryan being called for holding Johnston below the goal line.

Darnell Nurse blocked a shot during the penalty kill and passed it to Connor Brown, setting up a short-handed three-on-one. Brown drew in Thomas Harley before passing to Janmark, who snapped the go-ahead goal over Oettinger, giving the Oilers a 3-2 lead.

"We feel good about each other on that kill. We trust in each other," Brown said. "Unreal play by Doc there to win that battle and spring us. There's a lot to be said about Darnell. Everyone was coming at him this morning. Two tough bounces to start the game, and he settles in, plays his best game of the playoffs and leads us to a victory. That's a character right there."

Janmark's short-handed goal was his second of the playoffs and his second career playoff point on the penalty kill. His first was an assist in 2019 with the Stars.

"We've been confident lately and have had a good kill in this series, so we've got them a bit on their heels," Janmark said. "We played to our structure on the goal, and we got a big block from Nurse and then Brownie picked it up. We were able to go the other way."

Janmark and Brown connected on a similar play at even strength during Game 5 of the Second Round in Vancouver.

"As far as the goals we've scored, I think we're both pretty good skaters, so if we get an opportunity to get an odd-man rush, we can take advantage of it that way," Janmark said. "He's made two good passes to me, and I've been able to capitalize. I'm just trying to work hard, and our skating helps us find open space."

Rogers Place erupted just 51 seconds later when McDavid poked the puck free to Draisaitl in the neutral zone, creating a quick odd-man rush with Hyman. Draisaitl executed a give-and-go with Hyman before snapping a shot past Oettinger from between the hash marks, extending the lead to 4-2.

Draisaitl, who had only one goal in this series prior, now has two goals and seven assists in games following a two-game stretch without points, which has happened only three times in his career.

THIRD PERIOD

The game slowed down in the final frame as the Oilers focused on preventing the Stars from regaining momentum, unlike Game 3 when Dallas scored three third-period goals.

But not this time.

"Really good. We rolled lines, everyone stayed fresh, stayed above them, and made the right decisions at the lines," Draisaitl said about Edmonton's performance. "I don't know. What did we give up? Maybe one look at the power play in the slot? So very mature and very well done."

Dallas outshot the Oilers 8-5 in the final 20 minutes and had a power-play opportunity in the last five minutes to close the gap. However, Edmonton extended their penalty kill streak to 23 consecutive kills, forcing the Stars to pull their goaltender with a two-goal deficit.

"We got a 4-2 lead and took a penalty, and this is their opportunity to get back in the game," Knoblauch said. "It's their opportunity to make it 4-3 with plenty of time left on the clock, and we come up with another kill. No matter who we've had in the lineup, we've had a lot of guys in and out as those penalty-killers, but everyone's stepped up and taken a lot of pride in that job."

Mattias Ekholm sealed Edmonton's victory with an empty-net goal from full-ice with 1:53 left in regulation, ensuring the Oilers head back to Texas with the series tied in the Western Conference Final.