EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers are one win away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry each had a power-play goal and an assist and the Oilers took a commanding lead in the Western Conference final series with a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique added empty-net goals, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid each had two assists for the Oilers took a 3-1 lead in the series by winning three consecutive games after a third-period collapse cost them the opening game in Dallas. Since that game, Edmonton has outscored Dallas 13-2.
Draisaitl said it was far from easy in Game 4.
“There are going to be some swings in a series. They’re one of the last four teams standing, so they’re going to have their push, and there’s going to be periods where they control the play. That’s just the way it is,” Draisaitl said.
“But I think we’ve managed it really well. (goalie Stuart Skinner) has been incredible when we needed him to be, and our third period was really well played.”
The Oilers are now 9-0 in Game 4s over their past three playoff runs.
Skinner continued to shine in the Edmonton net, making 28 saves in the win.
“How we all played as a team was fantastic and shows a lot of courage, the way that guys are blocking shots,” Skinner said. “For myself, it definitely felt good out there. I’m just trying to give my team the best chance that I possibly can every night.”
Jason Robertson scored for the Stars, who are in danger of being eliminated in the West final by the Oilers for the second year in a row.
“It’s time to reset again, it’s not over until somebody wins four games,” said Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who has been held scoreless for seven straight games after scoring nine goals in the six previous games. “So, now we go on home ice and it’s just one game at a time. I mean, I don’t even think really what the series is, it’s just try to win one game and come back to Alberta.”
Jake Oettinger recorded 29 stops while taking the loss in the Dallas net, falling to 5-11 in his career in West final contests.
After surviving a flurry of Dallas chances to start the game, the Oilers started the scoring on the power play with 8:37 to play in the opening period as Nugent-Hopkins kept up his hot play in the series, feeding it to Draisaitl who beat Oettinger with a one-timer from a bad angle for his seventh of the playoffs.
There was some cause for concern for Edmonton in the first frame, however, as forward Zach Hyman took an open ice hit from Mason Marchment and left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.
The Stars tied the game at 1-1 seven minutes into the second period on a nice power-play passing play as Robertson picked the top corner on Skinner for his second goal of the playoffs in as many games.
Edmonton regained the lead on another power play as Nugent-Hopkins made a perfect pass to Perry for an easy tap-in for his sixth, making him just the fifth player aged 40 and older to score in a conference final.
It was Nugent-Hopkins’ fourth consecutive multipoint performance, becoming the first player in 35 years to accomplish that feat in a conference final, and the first Oiler to have nine or more points through the first four games of a conference final since Wayne Gretzky 37 years ago.
Stars forward Roope Hintz returned to the lineup after missing a game. He was helped off the ice late in the third period of Game 2 after being slashed on the top of the left foot by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.
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