3 Keys: Stars at Oilers, Game 4 of Western Conference Final

(1C) Stars at (2P) Oilers

Western Conference Final, Game 4

8:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, MAX

Dallas leads best-of-7 series 2-1

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers will look to bounce back from a 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 3 and even the Western Conference Final in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

The Oilers dropped consecutive games for the first time in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, following a 3-1 loss in Game 2 on Saturday and their latest defeat.

Edmonton is expected to make a number of lineup changes for Game 4, which could include the return of forwards Corey Perry and Ryan McLeod and the 2024 playoff debut of defenseman Philip Broberg.

“Our group responds well,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said Wednesday. “There is a belief in our room that we can respond in these situations, I have no doubt we’ll do the same tonight.”

Stuart Skinner will start for Edmonton; he's 8-5 with a 2.76 goals-against-average, .885 save percentage and one shutout in 13 games this postseason. He allowed four goals on 21 shots Monday, the first time he had given up that many in five games; he allowed four goals on 15 shots in 40:11 during a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round on May 12.

Jake Oettinger will start for Dallas; he's 10-6 with a 2.09 GAA and .923 save percentage in 16 playoff starts. He has held opponents to one goal or fewer in four of his past seven starts this postseason.

Here are 3 keys for Game 4:

1. Lineup shuffle

The Oilers will make a number of lineup changes for Game 4, although coach Kris Knoblauch would not divulge what changes would be made.

“We will have some lineup changes, but you’re going to have to wait until tonight,” Knoblauch said. “It’s a big showcase.”

Edmonton held an optional morning skate and based on the players who participated and stayed out late, it would appear Broberg will dress in place of Vincent Desharnais. Perry and McLeod each also could play for Edmonton.

Broberg had two assists in 12 games with the Oilers this season and 38 points (five goals, 33 assists) in 49 games with Bakersfield of the American Hockey League.

“[Broberg] has been making the most of his season,” Knoblauch said. “It’s a very difficult situation here, we have a player that we feel is NHL ready but we had our six defensemen and we were very fortunate this year to have almost no injuries. We have a young defenseman that we believe has tremendous upside and has to play, and if we have our six, we did not feel it was beneficial for him to be our seventh.”

2. Continued Hintz boost for Stars

Stars center Roope Hintz returned to the lineup in Game 3 after missing the previous four games of the playoffs with an upper-body injury.

He had two assists in his return, setting up two of forward Jason Robertson’s three goals. Hintz has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 12 games this postseason.

“He has a huge impact on our team on and off the ice,” Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell said. “I’m not saying he’s fun just because he’s a Finn, but guys around the locker room will agree with that and he just brings positive energy.”

Dallas was 2-2 without Hintz in the lineup.

“Probably the more surprising was how well we played against the teams we played, and the record we had when he was out of the lineup,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “If you take anyone’s No. 1 center out of the lineup at this time of year, when you’re down to the final eight, final four teams, it affects all kinds of parts of your game.

"I loved how we weathered that storm while he was out of the lineup and obviously, him coming back in changes things for us.”

3. Power-play outage

Neither team has scored a power-play goal in the series. Edmonton is 0-for-5 and Dallas is 0-for-7.

Eventually something has to give in a series where there has not been an abundance of penalties assessed either way.

“They have a good kill, they’re aggressive, they get up ice, they made it difficult to get in (the zone)," McDavid said, "and when you do get in, it’s tough to set up and get settled down. They’re a real good kill, but we have to bear down. We have to be a factor in this series.”

DeBoer said the Stars are preparing for the Oilers to make adjustments on the man-advantage.

“As you prepare a book on the other team, I think you try and anticipate what the tweaks might be based on their history and the tape over the entire year,” he said. “You can see maybe what they've done, what they tweaked in the past.

"But at the end of the day, you’re guessing, you want to stick to your foundation and the two or three things they do really well. If they throw some tweaks in there, then you adjust on the fly. But there is some work on trying to anticipate what they might do next.”

Stars projected lineup

Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Tyler Seguin

Mason Marchment -- Matt Duchene -- Joe Pavelski

Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Logan Stankoven

Ty Dellandrea -- Sam Steel -- Radek Faksa

Thomas Harley -- Miro Heiskanen

Esa Lindell -- Chris Tanev

Ryan Suter -- Alex Petrovic

Jake Oettinger

Scott Wedgewood

Scratched: Lian Bichsel, Mavrik Bourque, Nils Lundkvist, Derrick Pouliot, Craig Smith

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body)

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Dylan Holloway -- Leon Draisaitl -- Evander Kane

Corey Perry -- Adam Henrique -- Connor Brown

Mattias Janmark -- Ryan McLeod -- Derek Ryan

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci

Philip Broberg -- Brett Kulak

Stuart Skinner

Calvin Pickard

Scratched: Sam Carrick, Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele, Sam Gagner

Injured: Troy Stecher (undisclosed)

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate Wednesday. ... The Stars made one change to their lineup from a 5-3 win against the Oilers in Game 3; Faksa will skate on the fourth line for Smith, a forward … Hakanpaa, a defenseman who has been out since March 16, did not travel to Edmonton.

NHL.com independent correspondent Gerry Moddejonge contributed to this report