The Edmonton Oilers couldn't have scripted a worse start to Game 4. Less than a minute in, Dallas Stars star Wyatt Johnston scored to put his team in the lead. Shortly thereafter, Dallas doubled their lead. Everything went wrong in the early goings of a game Edmonton needed to win.
But, the Oilers struck back. Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard scored to tie the game before the first intermission. From then on, Edmonton had control of the game. And they were able to overcome their early struggles to win Game 4 by a score of 5-2. As the clock ticked down, Oilers fans put the Stars on notice.
The Stars entered Wednesday night's contest with a 2-1 series lead. However, the 2024 Western Conference Finals are now tied. The next three games are certainly going to be an intense affair. Especially with a trip to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on the line.
Oilers fight back in Game 4
The Oilers took the lead in the second period despite being a man down. Forward Mattias Janmark scored his second of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the penalty kill. The shorthanded goal didn't stand as their lone goal of the period, though. Leon Draisaitl scored his 10th of the postseason to double the Edmonton lead.
The Stars did what they could to keep the Oilers at bay in the third period. But they failed to generate much offense for themselves. In the end, they failed to score at all in the third period. And an empty net goal from Mattias Ekholm sealed their fate. Dallas lost despite their impressive start to the contest.
“We came here and got a split. It’s two out of three to go to the Stanley Cup. This isn’t supposed to be easy and it’s not supposed to be pretty,” Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said after the game, via The Athletic's Mark Lazerus.
Ending a decades-long drought
The Oilers are now two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton hasn't been this close to the final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2006. And they are trying to do something that the NHL hasn't seen since the early to mid-1990s.
Edmonton is looking to become the first Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup since 1993. That year, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, a Canadian team has appeared in the final round just five times. The last time a Canadian team went to the final was 2011.
For now, the Oilers have to focus on themselves. Edmonton did well to tie the series on Wednesday night. But the road to the Stanley Cup Final is tricky. The Oilers have to play two of the next three games on the road. However, there are some things working in Edmonton's favor.
First, the Oilers are playing away from home, but Dallas has struggled in their own building. In fact, the Stars have a less than .500 record at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Furthermore, their .444 winning percentage at home is the worst among the remaining four teams in the NHL.
Another advantage is the timing of Edmonton's remaining home game. The Oilers play host to Game 6 of this series. If the Oilers win Game 5, they put the Stars in an unenviable position of needing to win Game 6 against one of the best home-ice teams in these Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Oilers picked up a big win on Wednesday night. But their work is not finished quite yet. Edmonton heads to Dallas to take on the Stars in Game 5 on Friday night with puck drop currently scheduled for 8:30 PM Eastern Time.
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