Game 4 grades, takeaways: Edmonton takes commanding series lead

Bizarre arsenic it mightiness sound, Game 4 made definite that 3 is the magic number. Coming distant with a 4-1 triumph Tuesday has seen the Edmonton Oilers triumph 3 successful a enactment portion having a 3-1 bid vantage successful the Western Conference finals.

Suffering what is present their 3rd consecutive decision means the Dallas Stars are a nonaccomplishment distant from their play ending portion being the archetypal squad to beforehand to 3 consecutive league finals without reaching the Stanley Cup since the NHL moved to the existent format backmost successful 1994.

Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski instrumentality a look backmost astatine what happened successful Game 4, what players could marque an interaction successful what mightiness beryllium a defining Game 5 for some franchises portion besides asking what large questions look the Oilers and Stars up of Thursday.

Edmonton Oilers
Grade: A-

Warning: The pursuing commentary is going to dependable similar a breached grounds similar erstwhile it comes to the Edmonton Oilers. Reader discretion is advised.

Now that we've gone done the good print, the Oilers did successful Game 4 what they person since Kris Knoblauch arrived successful November 2023. They found a mode to adjust. Again. Giving up 16 first-period shots led to the Oilers making the indispensable adjustments that saw that fig diminution to 9 shots successful the 2nd earlier going much than 11 minutes successful the 3rd until the Stars got a 2nd changeable connected goal. They allowed 2 high-danger chances successful 5-on-5 play implicit the last 2 periods portion inactive retaining their carnal borderline without Zach Hyman, who was ruled retired pursuing a first-period deed with Mason Marchment.

In summation to those adjustments, the Oilers besides received contributions from everyone. Leon Draisaitl scored the opener with Corey Perry scoring the eventual game-winner portion Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was astatine the controls with 2 assists. Then came the empty-net goals from Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique to adjacent retired the game. Similar to what they did successful Game 3, the Oilers recovered the equilibrium that saw them trust connected Stuart Skinner to marque the needed prevention portion providing him with stronger enactment passim the people of the game. -- Ryan S. Clark

Dallas Stars
Grade: B-

First the bully news: The Dallas Stars had a large archetypal play that saw them enactment 16 shots connected goal, gain 74% of the changeable attempts and 12 much scoring chances than the Oilers. Now the atrocious news: It didn't pb to the Stars scoring the archetypal extremity of the game, thing they've yet to bash this series, portion Draisaitl's power-play extremity enactment them successful a 1-0 spread aft 20 minutes. Key phrase: "Power play." The Oilers were 2-for-3 against a punishment termination portion that's fixed up astatine slightest 1 extremity connected the antheral vantage successful each crippled of the series.

That's each they needed against a Dallas discourtesy that Edmonton defended expertly successful beforehand of Skinner. How expertly? The Dallas stars went astir 30 minutes betwixt the 2nd and 3rd periods without a high-danger changeable attempt. Dallas had 4 shots connected extremity successful the 3rd period. With their play connected the line! The suppression of the Dallas discourtesy -- partially by the Oilers and Skinner, partially due to the fact that the Stars person truthful galore passengers this bid -- implicit the past 2 periods is the crushed they're facing elimination aft Game 4. -- Greg Wyshynski

Three Stars of Game 4

1. Corey Perry
RW, Olilers

With a extremity and an assist, Perry became the archetypal guardant with 15 minutes of clip connected crystal and 2 points astatine property 40-or-older successful the playoffs since Jaromir Jagr successful 2013 for the Bruins against the Blackhawks successful the Stanley Cup Final.

2. Stuart Skinner
G, Oilers

Another triumph with 1 oregon little goals scored against this postseason. Skinner made 28 of 29 saves with the lone extremity being a cleanable Jason Robertson apical support snipe connected the powerfulness play.

3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
C, Oilers

Mark Messier connected The Point called him possibly the champion peculiar teams subordinate (penalty termination and powerfulness play) successful the NHL and it showed successful Game 4 particularly with the antheral advantage, wherever helium had 2 superior assists propelling the Oilers to a commanding 3-1 bid lead. -- Arda Öcal

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Leon Draisaitl opens up scoring for Oilers

Leon Draisaitl smacks a one-timer into the nett connected the powerfulness play arsenic the Oilers drawback a 1-0 lead.

Players to ticker successful Game 5

Corey Perry
RW, Oilers

There's inactive the anticipation that the Oilers could person Hyman for Game 5. If not, then, it's going to pb to Knoblauch making an accommodation to regenerate what's been the Oilers' astir carnal subordinate this postseason. Filling Hyman's void could beryllium a corporate effort arsenic it was successful Game 4 fixed that Trent Frederic, Evander Kane, Vasily Podkolzin and Kapanen each finished with much than 5 hits. Perry, who besides has that carnal facet to his game, has provided the Oilers with a winger who tin play passim the lineup. That was adjacent much evident successful Game 4 with his two-point show that saw his sixth extremity of the playoffs necktie Jean Beliveau for the astir by a subordinate successful their age-39 season. Whether it beryllium connected the 4th enactment oregon adjacent to Connor McDavid and Draisaitl to springiness the Oilers a guardant operation that features Hart Trophy winners, a luxury nary different squad has this postseason. -- Clark

Mikko Rantanen
RW, Stars

Dallas GM Jim Nill said it himself aft acquiring Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes: "Mikko's acquisition successful the postseason is an invaluable plus to our squad arsenic we enactment toward the extremity of winning a Stanley Cup."

Welp. The Stars are 1 much nonaccomplishment distant from being shaken awake from their Stanley Cup imagination successful the league last for a 3rd consecutive season. When reasoning astir reasons "it'll beryllium antithetic this time," Rantanen's sanction was apical of the list. Especially aft his 18-point detonation implicit the people of 7 games betwixt the extremity of the Colorado bid and the commencement of the Winnipeg series.

Rantanen doesn't person a extremity since Game 3 against the Jets. He has 2 secondary assists successful his past six playoff games. The "invaluable asset" hasn't precisely go a liability. He's generating shots. He's trying. But he's not been a difference-maker successful the aforesaid mode the apical Edmonton players have. Game 5 could beryllium a bequest crippled for Rantanen oregon much of the aforesaid for the Dallas. -- Wyshynski

Big questions for Game 5

Will it beryllium excessively adjacent for comfortableness oregon closing clip for the Oilers successful Game 5?

Fully knowing what this iteration of the Oilers has done this postseason tin beryllium viewed successful a fig of ways. Doing that, however, means looking backmost astatine however they finished past play successful the Stanley Cup final. They cognize firsthand what it means to fto an hostile find adjacent a small spot of breathing country lone to spot them summation life. But they besides cognize what it's similar to person that caller proverbial beingness and neglect to marque the astir of that advantage. Fast guardant to this postseason. The 2nd they got an opening against the Los Angeles Kings successful the archetypal round, they took attraction of business. The infinitesimal the Vegas Golden Knights thought they had something, the Oilers kept them from scoring for the remainder of the postseason. So what are they astir to bash to the Stars successful Game 5? And volition it beryllium capable to nonstop the Oilers backmost to the Stanley Cup last for a 2nd consecutive season? -- Clark

Is it arsenic elemental arsenic scoring the archetypal goal?

We similar to get truly brainy erstwhile it comes to hockey analysis. Puck possession, expected goals, high-danger chances and the remainder of the fancy stats. We breakdown plays down to the pixel to explicate them. What we don't similar to bash is admit the simplicity of playoff hockey. Because a conception similar "first extremity wins" is conscionable truthful normie and uncomplicated. Even if it mightiness beryllium true.

The Carolina Hurricanes scored the archetypal extremity successful Game 4, facing elimination. They exhaled, got to their crippled and present the bid has swung backmost to Raleigh, with Carolina moving to 6-0 erstwhile they people first. Dallas is 3-0 successful the postseason erstwhile scoring archetypal -- and possibly the information that it's lone happened 3 times is 1 crushed wherefore they've played much games (17) than anyone other successful the tournament.

Scoring archetypal doesn't committedness you anything. After all, Dallas lone had a .674 winning percent erstwhile scoring archetypal successful the regular season, 17th successful the NHL. But getting a extremity connected the committee against the Oilers would calm things down. It would let the Stars to physique connected their crippled alternatively than frantically excavation retired of a hole. Most importantly, it could assistance works a small uncertainty successful the minds of the Oilers. Giving them a small concern. Because close now, they're the astir unbothered squad successful the league finals -- cool, assured and 1 triumph distant from different Stanley Cup Finals appearances unless the Stars flip the publication fast. Scoring first, arsenic elemental arsenic it sounds, would beryllium 1 mode to effort to bash that. -- Wyshynski