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The Edmonton Oilers faced a 2-1 series deficit heading into Game 4, and after two Dallas Stars goals in the first 5:29 of the game, it looked like that could grow to 3-1.

Then the tide turned, significantly.

Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard scored in the first, followed by goals from Mattias Janmark and Leon Draisaitl in the second — and an empty-net capper from Mattias Ekholm for good measure. The series is now 2-2 and headed back to Dallas for Game 5 on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

What stood out the most from this game? What trends will continue? And who are the key players to monitor with the series now down to a best-of-3?

Oilers grade: A-

Game 4 was the perfect encapsulation of the Oilers.They had a terrible start, going down 2-0 in the first 5:29 of a must-win game. They roared back to score five unanswered goals, controlled play by limiting Dallas to 22 shots, killed two power plays and scored a shorthanded goal. Goalie Stuart Skinner looked like he was about to fall apart but made key saves — including a great one on Tyler Seguin — to ensure Dallas didn’t score that third goal.

No team in the postseason can look as bad and as good as the Oilers, frequently in the same 20 minutes.

Coach Kris Knoblauch also deserves his flowers for shaking up his roster for Game 5. He swapped in forwards Corey Perry and Ryan McLeod, as well as defenseman Philip Broberg; and swapped out forwards Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele, as well as defenseman Vincent Desharnais. Once again, Knoblauch pushed the right buttons: McLeod scored Edmonton’s first goal to cut the Dallas lead to 2-1, on an assist from Perry; and their line with Leon Draisaitl outshot the Stars 6-1 while on the ice at 5-on-5.

The Oilers credit Knoblauch with saving their season. He’s continued those heroics in the playoffs.

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1:20

Oilers take lead with 2 goals in 51 seconds

Mattias Janmark and Leon Draisaitl score in less than a minute of each other to give the Oilers a 4-2 lead over the Stars.


Stars grade: C-

Blowing a 2-0 first-period lead wasn’t the problem. Watching the Oilers score two goals in 51 seconds — a Mattias Janmark shorthanded goal and Leon Draisaitl’s 10th of the postseason — wasn’t the problem.

The problem was just how meekly the Stars lost Game 4 in Edmonton. Dallas had one high-danger shot attempt in the third period against Stuart Skinner.

No passion, no pushback. Now the Oilers have new life in the series.


What we learned in Game 4

Goalies can make stick saves even when they don’t have sticks in their hands.

Late in the first period, Stars goalie Jake Oettinger lost his stick while scrambling to make two saves on an Edmonton power play. Oilers winger Zach Hyman nudged the stick with his skate back off of Oettinger, and it eventually settled with the stick blade draped across the goal line.

Connor McDavid got the puck to Oettinger’s right, saw some daylight between the goalie and the net and fired the puck … directly off the abandoned stick and out of harm’s way for Dallas. McDavid had a look of stunned disbelief on the bench in a 2-2 game.

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0:46

‘Unbelievable!’ Jake Oettinger’s unattended stick somehow blocks goal

Jake Oettinger’s stick somehow is placed in the right path to block the Oilers from taking a lead in the first period.

According to the NHL’s official scoresheet, it counted as a missed shot by McDavid rather than a save for Oettinger, which we believe is a serious underestimation of Otter’s precognitive powers.


Players to watch in Game 5

Darnell Nurse. The Edmonton defenseman was a target of derision locally after Game 3, with some openly questioning his future with the team based on his ineffectiveness. He was on the ice for the Stars’ first two goals, including an Esa Lindell shot that deflected off Nurse and into the net to make it 2-0.

But he kept battling. He assisted on McLeod’s goal. He was a physical presence. He delivered 12 hits but didn’t take a minor penalty in 19:19 of ice time. It was a critical performance for an important player.

Jason Robertson. Was the Roberts-issance one and done? The Stars winger went 10 playoff games without a goal before tallying a hat trick in Game 3, thanks in part to the return of Roope Hintz. But Robertson was a minus-2 with no points in Game 4, the sixth time in the postseason he was held without a point and the seventh in which he had a minus-rating.

With the Stars still looking for their first power-play goal of the series, they need the Robertson who showed up for Game 3, with the action shifting back to Dallas for Game 5.


Big question for Game 5: Is Chris Tanev OK?

The Stars defenseman blocked an Evander Kane shot with his right foot with 7:38 left in the second period, and did not return to the game with a lower-body injury. A key acquisition at the trade deadline, Tanev has been a critical part of the Stars’ top four on defense, averaging 23:26 of ice time per game.

He has 68 blocked shots to lead all players in the postseason. Dallas is hoping he’ll be available to block a few more in Game 5. If not, it’s a massive blow to the thinnest area of the Stars’ lineup, and could impact their penalty kill, which is the last thing you want against the Oilers.

After the game, coach Pete DeBoer said “fingers crossed” that Tanev is OK for Game 5.

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Rangers’ Gray fractures wrist on comebacker

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Rangers' Gray fractures wrist on comebacker

The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.

Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.

“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”

Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.

Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Ohtani hits long home run in return to Japan

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Ohtani hits long home run in return to Japan

TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.

In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.

The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.

The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.

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Dodgers’ Betts to miss Japan games with illness

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Dodgers' Betts to miss Japan games with illness

TOKYO — Shortstop Mookie Betts will miss the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ two exhibition games in Japan because of an illness, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.

Roberts said he’s still hopeful that the eight-time All-Star will be available for the team’s first regular season game against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome. The Dodgers are playing the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers — two teams from Japan — in exhibition games on Saturday and Sunday.

Roberts said the 32-year-old Betts started to feel flu-like symptoms during the team’s final day in Arizona, but team doctors said he was OK to make the long trip to Japan.

“Mookie is here today, but he’s been really sick,” Roberts said. “Lost some weight, so we’re trying to get him hydrated. He’s going to work out a little today, but he won’t be playing either tonight or tomorrow.

“Then when we have our off day, our workout day, we’ll see how he is.”

Betts is making the full-time transition to shortstop this season after playing most of his career in right field and second base. The 2018 AL MVP hit .289 with 19 homers and 75 RBI last season, helping the Dodgers win the World Series.

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