The Edmonton Oilers will play the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final tonight (May 29) at Rogers Place. The Oilers are trailing the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoff series 2-1.
After Edmonton won Game 1 in Dallas by a score of 3-2 in double overtime, the Stars have responded with back-to-back victories to retake home-ice advantage. Edmonton was defeated 5-3 in Game 3 at Rogers Place on Monday (May 27) despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old.
The Oilers are now tasked with winning three of the next four games against a Stars team whose longest ROL (regulation and overtime loss) streak during the 2023-24 regular season was just three games, and that happened only once.
However, Edmonton is in a position that was comfortably familiar to the Oilers during the era of Connor McDavid. This is the fourth time since McDavid entered the NHL after being drafted first overall in 2015 that the Oilers have found themselves trailing 2-1 in a best-of-seven series, and they have managed to rally to win the series in two of the previous three instances.
What’s more, all three of those series have occurred within the last 13 months, meaning almost every key player on Edmonton’s current roster has extensive experience in this scenario.
As the Oilers once again attempt to rally from a 2-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, here’s a look at how those previous three series unfolded.
2023 Western Conference First Round – Oilers vs. Kings
Already down 2-1 in the series, the Oilers trailed the Los Angeles Kings by 3-0 in Game 4 after a disastrous opening period at Crypto.com Arena.
Coach Jay Woodcroft replaced starting goalie Stuart Skinner with Jack Campbell to start the second period, and the Oilers bounced back with three goals in the middle frame. Leon Draisaitl’s second goal of the second period, coming at 19:49, sent the teams into the intermission knotted at 3-3.
While Matt Roy scored early in the third period to put the Kings back in front, Edmonton’s Evander Kane tied things up with just 3:02 left in regulation, sending the game to overtime. Zach Hyman scored at 10:39 of sudden death to give the Oilers a 5-4 victory.
Buoyed by one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in their franchise playoff history, the Oilers rode a wave of momentum to a 6-3 victory at Rogers Place in Game 5. Edmonton ended the series with a 5-4 triumph in Game 6 at Crypto.com Arena, where Kailer Yamamoto scored the series-winning goal at 16:57 of the third period.
2023 Western Conference Second Round – Oilers vs. Knights
Edmonton came away from T-Mobile Arena, having split the first two games of its series against the Vegas Golden Knights. But the Oilers were blown away at home in Game 3, losing 5-1, putting them with their backs against the wall entering Game 4 at Rogers Arena.
Once again, the Oilers regrouped to win and even the series. Edmonton arguably played its most complete game of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 4 against Vegas, building a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes before locking down in the third period and winning 4-1.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, that would be its last victory of the 2023 postseason. The Oilers were beaten in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena by a score of 4-3 and were then eliminated with a 5-2 loss in front of their fans at Rogers Arena in Game 6. Vegas would go on to capture the Stanley Cup, losing only three times in its final 13 games en route to the franchise’s first championship.
2024 Western Conference Second Round – Oilers vs. Canucks
Edmonton’s come-from-behind triumph in Round 2 against the Vancouver Canucks is not only the series that is freshest in the Oilers’ minds but is also very similar in circumstance to their current 2-1 deficit against the Stars.
Like this series, Edmonton split the first two games on the road before losing Game 3 at home by a score of 4-3. Like this series, the Oilers’ lone win in the first three games came in overtime on the road (4-3 at Rogers Arena in Game 2). Also, like this series, the Oilers have lost a game in which they led 2-0 after the first period (a 5-4 loss at Rogers Arena in the series-opener).
The Oilers hope there are a lot more similarities between this series and the last round against the Canucks, starting with a Game 4 win and ending in a series victory.
Edmonton evened things up with Vancouver at two wins apiece by defeating the Canucks 3-2 at Rogers Place. The electricity of Bouchard’s winning goal with just 39 seconds remaining in Game 4 on May 14 still charges Rogers Place.
Related: 5 Takeaways From Oilers’ Thrilling Game 4 Victory Over Canucks
The Oilers dropped Game 5 on the road, 3-2, but clapped back with a dominant 5-1 win at Rogers Place in Game 6, and then put the Canucks on ice by winning Game 7 in Vancouver by a score of 3-2.
So here they are again. Plenty of historical data favor the Oilers, the most immediate of relevance being their record in Game 4 of a best-of-seven series when trailing 2-1: 3-0 in the McDavid era and 5-1 going back to 2001. However, Dallas is already 2-0 in Game 4 on the road this postseason.
But none of the aforementioned stats will mean a thing once the puck is dropped, just after 6:30 p.m. local time tonight. Game 4 of this series will be its own story, and if history is any indication, it will be a memorable, dramatic, and exciting one.
