After blowing a 2 goal lead in game 3 the Edmonton Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to pull out the win last night. Even though the Stars had a perfect start the Oilers did not roll over a die, in fact, they did the opposite. With both the Stars' goals coming within the first 6 minutes of the game the Oilers were able to use the rest of the period to even up the game making the game tied heading into the second period.
After the first period, the Oilers played some of the best hockey we have seen in this series. With Mattias Janmark scoring a shorthanded goal then Leon Draisaitl extending the lead to 2 goals shortly after the penalty expired. After that point, the Stars were unable to get anything going. Which was a nice change from what the Oilers have done with a lead in the previous games.
Knoblauch's Changes Worked
Coming into the game last night Edmonton Oilers head coach, Kris Knoblach, made a few changes in the lineup. He injected Ryan McLeod, Corey Perry and Philip Broberg into the lineup and all three played a good game. Coming out of the lineup were Warren Foegele, Sam Carrick and Vincent Desharnais.
The Oilers had been struggling to hold on to a lead and play a full 60 minutes. To try and fix that issue, Knoblauch made the bold move to switch out three of the players in the lineup and if the outcome of the game is any indication it worked.
With the way this team played last night, I don't think that Knoblauch is going to make any changes heading into game 5. The players that were brought in gave them no reason to take them out, nor did any other player. If the Oilers can play the way they played last night the rest of the way the Dallas Stars need to be worried.
Game 5 will be played on Friday back in Dallas. The Oilers won the first game of the series in Dallas so being on the road shouldn't affect them too much. Not having the last change does give the Dallas Stars a bit of an advantage though. Oilers lost game 5 to the Canucks and were forced to win 2 straight. If they lose on Friday, winning two straight will not be as easy against the Stars.