Nugent-Hopkins shines again for Oilers in Game 4 victory of Western Final

EDMONTON -- A year ago, Leon Draisaitl referred to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the coach’s favorite for all he does with the Edmonton Oilers.

The way the Oilers forward is playing against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final this season, it is safe to say Nugent-Hopkins still holds that honor.

Nugent-Hopkins had two assists in a 4-1 win in Game 4 here at Rogers Place on Tuesday to give him nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the best-of-7 series, which Edmonton leads 3-1. He’s the first Oilers player to get at least nine points in the first four games of a conference final since Wayne Gretzky had 10 in 1988 against the Detroit Red Wings.

“This series maybe he is (coach’s favorite), the way he’s playing,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s really elevated his game, and the plays he made on the power play tonight and multiple point games throughout the series, Ryan is very valuable to our team, whether it’s on the power play, the penalty kill, or 5-on-5.

“I think through the regular season, not that he was ever bad, but he didn’t play up to his expectations, but when we needed him most through these playoffs, he’s really played well and we need him to continue that.”

Nugent-Hopkins has helped Edmonton get to within a win of its second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers can clinch the conference final series in Game 5 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“He touches every part of the game you can think of,” Draisaitl said Tuesday. “[Nugent-Hopkins], in a way, sacrifices a lot of offense throughout the year doing everything in the right way and being in the right position and doing all the little things that all guys don’t want to do, and he prioritizes that. We all know he’s capable of putting up numbers and scoring and making great plays. Obviously right now, it’s everything at once that’s clicking and he’s been the best player in the series.”

Nugent-Hopkins had 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 78 games this season, a dip in production from the 67 points (18 goals, 49 assists) he had in 80 games last season and the 104 points (37 goals, 67 assists) he had in 82 games in 2022-23.

But in this season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nugent-Hopkins is back to better than a point-per-game pace with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 15 games.

On Tuesday against Dallas, Nugent-Hopkins set up Draisaitl on the power play at 11:23 of the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead, passing up an open look from the slot before sending the puck back to Draisaitl for a one-timer from the right face-off circle.

The longest-serving member of the Oilers, now in his 14th season, then set up Corey Perry on the power play at 9:20 of the second period to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

“I think everybody is pretty locked in. We’re all trying to do our part and chip in,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Obviously tonight, I think we needed the power play to kind of step up, and we were ready to and we wanted to. We talked about it a lot -- scoring in the big moments when the team needs us to -- and I thought we did a great job tonight. But I think everybody is locked in and ready to chip in and kind of do your part.”

Since his arrival in Edmonton as the No. 1 selection in the 2011 NHL Draft, Nugent-Hopkins has filled a lot of roles. He is on the first-unit power play, on the penalty kill, and has played predominately a top-six role through his entire time with the Oilers.

If anyone deserves to experience success it would be Nugent-Hopkins, who went through lean times with Edmonton during a rebuild phase.

“It just keeps getting better and better, it’s unbelievable,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around sometimes of how unbelievable this fan base is. It seems like every series and every game they get louder in there. There are more people out on the streets before and after and you feel the support. When I first came in, we were obviously a struggling team, but you never really felt the negativity too much in the city. There was still a lot of positivity and a lot of hope.

“Now we’re one win away from going to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, and this is as exciting as it gets for us as a team and also for the fan base that stuck around for a lot of years. It never gets old, it just keeps getting better.”

Edmonton fell a win short of the Stanley Cup last season, losing to the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Final. The Oilers are determined to get back to the Final this season, and Nugent-Hopkins has led the charge against Dallas.

“Through the whole playoffs, this is probably the best I’ve seen him play,” Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak said. “He always brings a consistent effort, but he’s consistently at another level lately.”

Both assists Tuesday showcased Nugent-Hopkins’ offensive skill. He was also a big part of Edmonton's penalty kill, which limited Dallas to one goal on four attempts.

“[Nugent-Hopkins] has been absolutely outstanding for us this whole series,” Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said. “The way that he’s been working for us, how’s he’s been on the power play. Obviously for [the Stars] PK, you’re looking at [Draisaitl], [Connor McDavid], [Evan Bouchard], and the way [Nugent-Hopkins] has been able to find guys on the low plays, it’s been very impressive. He’s a huge leader and another big part of our team.”