Sports
Oilers Beat Stars 5-2 In Game 4 To Tie Western Conference Final
EDMONTON, Alberta — Kris Knoblauch expected a long night.
The Edmonton coach saw a perplexing, uninspired, flat start unfold on the Rogers Place ice.
His club was down 2-1 coming into Game 4 of the NHL’s Western Conference final against Dallas. It was trailing 2-0, had yet to register a shot, and appeared to slip away midway through the first period on Wednesday.
“Didn’t look very good,” Knoblauch remarked.
Oilers | AP News Image
Oilers Beat Stars 5-2 In Game 4 To Tie Western Conference Final
However, in a series with huge momentum swings—Edmonton blew a 2-0 lead before losing 5-3 in Game 3—the host team was far from out of it.
One good shift eventually spilled into another. The Oilers fought back, tying it before the end of the period, and refused to give up when the Stars exerted pressure. The clubs are now playing a best-of-three series to get to the Stanley Cup finals.
Mattias Janmark and Leon Draisaitl scored 51 seconds in the second period as the Oilers defeated the Stars 5-2 to level the series.
“We were a little sleepy,” Draisaitl said of the slow start. “Found our legs, got going a little bit, started to play our game.”
Janmark tied it with Connor Brown on a short-handed, 2-on-1 break with 5:29 left in the third, and Draisaitl scored his 10th postseason goal with 4:38 left.
Oilers | AP News Image
Oilers Beat Stars 5-2 In Game 4 To Tie Western Conference Final
Game 5 is scheduled for Friday night in Dallas.
“Got home ice back,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “This isn’t supposed to be easy.”
Edmonton also got goals from Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard, and Mattias Ekholm, who scored into an empty net with 1:53 left. Connor McDavid had two assists, and Stuart Skinner made 20 saves.
Dallas jumped ahead 2-0 in the opening 5 1/2 minutes, with two goals from Wyatt Johnson and Esa Lindell. McLeod and Bouchard countered for Edmonton late in the period.
Skinner made a tremendous save on Evgenii Dadonov, with the rink vibrating from the tying surge.
The Stars received their second power play with eight minutes left in regulation, but the Oilers killed their 23rd penalty in a row before Ekholm sealed the deal with the empty-net goal.
Jake Oettinger made 24 saves for Dallas.
Oilers | AP News Image
Oilers Beat Stars 5-2 In Game 4 To Tie Western Conference Final
When Edmonton eventually got its first shot more than eight minutes into the game, the crowd responded with a sarcastic shout.
“It’s funny in the playoffs how the psychology works,” Janmark remarked of blown leads. “We were in the opposite situation two days ago. “It’s difficult to explain.”
Edmonton made three changes to its lineup, replacing Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele, and Sam Carrick with defenseman Philip Broberg, McLeod, and winger Corey Perry.
Chris Tanev, a Stars defenseman, left in the second period with a lower-body injury. He did not return.
SOURCE – (AP)
