3 Keys: Oilers vs. Blackhawks, Game 4 of Cup Qualifiers

Chicago can end series with second straight win against Edmonton

By Tracey Myers

@Tramyers_NHL NHL.com Staff Writer

August 06, 2020

No. 5 Oilers vs. No. 12 Blackhawks

6:45 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN, NBCSCH

Chicago leads best-of-5 series, 2-1

The Chicago Blackhawks can eliminate the Edmonton Oilers and advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers at Rogers Place on Friday.

The Blackhawks put the Oilers on the brink with a 4-3 win in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city, on Wednesday, when center Jonathan Toews scored the go-ahead goal with 1:16 remaining in the third period.

"Even in a seven-game series, [wins] three and four are the toughest ones to close out," Toews, the Chicago captain, said after the game. "We've had some experience in the past knowing how to play, knowing how prepare for those big games. It's having that killer instinct but knowing that every game in this series has gotten tougher. It's going to be the toughest game coming up. I think [the Oilers'] best players played well and capitalized for them, but we can expect a much better team game and for them to improve as we go along."

Teams that win Game 3 after a series is tied 1-1 are 22-7 (75.9 percent) winning a best-of-5 NHL series (14-2 when last used from 1980-86).

Here are 3 keys to Game 4:

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1. Oilers' health issues

Forward Tyler Ennis is out indefinitely, and defenseman Adam Larsson, who was ruled unfit to play in Game 3, will be reassessed before Game 4.

Ennis' right leg appeared to get twisted underneath him after he was hit along the boards by Blackhawks center Kirby Dach with 3:15 remaining in the second period of Game 3. Larsson, who played on the Oilers' top defense pair with Oscar Klefbom, was replaced in the Game 3 lineup by Caleb Jones.

As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

"[Ennis] was a good player for us," Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said Thursday. "He's a smart player, he moves the puck, and he'll be missed. But what it is, is an opportunity for someone else. You guys have talked about players wanting more opportunities, more minutes, and we need them to get in there and do the job."

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2. Playing outside the box

The Oilers committed seven penalties during the first and second periods of Game 3, disrupting their overall game.

"A lot of minutes in the penalty box, it can hurt you," Klefbom said. "We've all seen that. We have to be smart out there, we have to be a good team 5-on-5. But right now, it's a lot of penalty kill and power play. Right now, we have to be smart out there."

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3. Blackhawks' secondary scoring

Chicago's fourth line of left wing Matthew Highmore, center David Kampf and right wing Ryan Carpenter was on the ice when Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl scored his two goals. That line made amends, with Highmore scoring the tying goal with 5:47 remaining.

"They've been so good for us here, and obviously they got scored on a couple times and that's something they take pride in, being strong defensively," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said after the game. "So they got better as the game went on and they came through with a huge goal for us."