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Edmonton Oilers even West Final with 5-2 win over Dallas Stars

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The Edmonton Oilers overcame an early deficit to drop the Dallas Stars 5-2 Wednesday night at Rogers Place. The best-of-seven Western Conference Final is tied 2-2.

“They’re a great team,” Oilers forward Connor Brown said of the Stars after the game. “They’re going to grab momentum at times in this series — it’s about what we do to go grab it back.

The Stars scored on the game’s first shot when Wyatt Johnston wired a shot past Stuart Skinner’s glove on a two-on-one.

Less than five minutes later, Esa Lindell’s point shot was going well wide but struck Darnell Nurse’s posterior and deflected past Skinner.

The Oilers responded with two goals in 2:37.

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“We responded well and kept our foot on the pedal and just kept plugging away. It was a great win,” Oilers forward Corey Perry said.

Oilers forward Ryan McLeod, back in action after being scratched in Game 3, popped a rebound past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for his first of the playoffs.

Then Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard buried the rebound of a Connor McDavid shot to make it 2-2.

Edmonton Oilers’ Evan Bouchard (2), Zach Hyman (18), Leon Draisaitl (29) and Connor McDavid (97) celebrate a goal against the Dallas Stars during second period action in game 4 of the Western Conference finals of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Edmonton on Wednesday May 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

The Oilers’ exceptional penalty-killing unit made a big impact in the second. Brown set up Mattias Janmark for a shorthanded goal on a two-on-one as the Oilers killed off their 22nd consecutive minor.

“I believe that shorthanded goal was the game-winning goal,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said.

“No matter who we’ve had in the lineup, we’ve had a lot of guys in and out (of the penalty killing units) … but everyone’s stepped up and taken a lot of pride in that job.”

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Just 51 seconds later, Leon Draisaitl snapped his 10th past Oettinger’s blocker.

The Oilers’ penalty kill made it 23 in a row in the third, negating a tripping call against Zach Hyman.

“We’ve been confident lately,” Janmark said about Edmonton’s penalty kill.

The Stars pulled Oettinger for an extra attacker with 2:44 left. Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm hit the empty net with 1:53 on the clock.

Skinner earned the win with 20 saves. Oettinger stopped 24.

McDavid had three assists.

Game 5 is Friday in Dallas. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 4:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 6:30 p.m.

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