The pressure finally lifted late in the third period. In a game when the passes weren’t as crisp, the hits not as thundering and the penalties piled higher than in previous outings this Western Conference final, the Edmonton Oilers – thanks once again to the yeoman goaltending of Stuart Skinner and stifling defensive play – won Game 4 to push the Dallas Stars to the brink of elimination. Kasperi Kapanen scored into an empty net with 2:27 left in the game to extend the Oilers’ lead by two after a chess match of a game with the Stars, who pressed early and often but were unable to solve Skinner despite several quality chances. Connor McDavid iced it with less than a minute to go for the eventual 4-1 victory to put Edmonton up three games to one in the best-of-seven showdown to decide who advances to the Stanley Cup final. But it was the Stars coming out of the gate desperate on Tuesday night, down by a game in the conference final rematch from last year and, of course, not wanting to face a two-game deficit. After all, of the 355 teams to fall behind 3-1 in a seven-game NHL playoff series, just 32 – nine per cent of them – have come back to win it. Dallas controlled play for much of the first and got shots through, but Skinner – who has three shutouts in the last eight games and two games in which he allowed just one, including Tuesday night’s match at Rogers Place – was sharp and kept the Stars scoreless, making 17 of his 28 saves in the opening frame. Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak said after the game a team’s goalie “usually has got to be your best player this time of year to win games and win series and move on.” “He’s definitely been that guy for us,” Kulak said of Skinner. Skinner told media post-game he was “feeling good” and “just trying to give my team the best chance that I possibly can.” “They definitely brought it on. They were bringing it the whole game,” Skinner said of the Stars first-period dominance of play. “How we all played as a team was fantastic. It shows a lot of courage, the way that our guys are blocking shots.” The Oilers’ defence also did their part, holding the Stars’ top line of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen to six shots between them – none for Hintz – and their lone goal, which Robertson scored on the power play. Kulak said Oilers’ defencemen are aware of Rantanen’s skills and abilities – the winger led all NHL scorers heading into the conference final with nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points heading into the conference final but has been held to two assists in the four games – and are “trying to make it hard on him.” “We’re using our legs, we’re positionally do a good job on him and just taking away time and space,” Kulak said. Edmonton grabbed momentum following their second goal – a power-play marker by Corey Perry – and managed to keep the Stars’ attack at bay for much of the rest of the game, including a tense third before Kapanen’s and McDavid’s empty-netters took the pressure off. Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who opened the scoring in the first period on the power play, said his team has managed navigating momentum swings “really well” to find themselves one win away from a repeat berth in the Stanley Cup final. “There are going to be some swings in this series. They’re a good team,” Draisaitl told reporters. “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.”
