The Edmonton Oilers battled back from an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Wednesday night at Rogers Place, tying their best-of-seven Western Conference Final at 2-2.
The Stars took an early lead when Wyatt Johnston scored on the game’s first shot, but the Oilers responded with two goals in just over two minutes from Ryan McLeod and Evan Bouchard to level the score at 2-2.
In the second period, the Oilers’ exceptional penalty-killing unit played a pivotal role. Mattias Janmark scored a shorthanded goal on a two-on-one, followed just 51 seconds later by Leon Draisaitl’s power-play goal, giving Edmonton a 4-2 lead.
The Stars pulled goalie Jake Oettinger for an extra attacker with 2:44 remaining in the game, but Mattias Ekholm sealed the Oilers’ victory with an empty-net goal.
Oilers’ netminder Stuart Skinner earned the win with 20 saves, while Oettinger stopped 24 shots. Connor McDavid had three assists for Edmonton.
Game 5 of the Western Conference Final will be played in Dallas on Friday. The Oilers will be looking to take the series lead, while the Stars will be determined to regain home-ice advantage.
