EDMONTON, AB - The Nuge came up the hugest he ever has for the Edmonton Oilers over his 11 seasons in Orange & Blue.
The Oilers staked themselves to a 3-0 lead in the first period behind goals from Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane before the Calgary Flames forged their comeback over the next two frames to level the score heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
With time in regulation dwindling down, Nugent-Hopkins scored the biggest goal of his career and his second of the night at the most critical moment by beating Jacob Markstrom on the rebound from a shot by Tyson Barrie with 3:27 remaining.
"Yeah, I don't think there's a question about that," Nugent-Hopkins said of the magnitude of his game-winner. "Obviously a lot of work left to do, but you'd rather be up 3-1 than 2-2."
Kane added an empty-netter in the final minute, sealing the 5-3 victory in Game 4 at Rogers Place and to give the Oilers a 3-1 series advantage in this second-round Battle of Alberta.
"I think Ryan is someone who's someone who's the longest-serving Oiler right now," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "He's probably going to go down by the end of his career as one of the players who's played the most games in an Oilers uniform, so to see him come up big in a big moment when the team needed him, it's inspiring."
The Oilers can eliminate their provincial rivals with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Flames 3 (Game 4)
Nugent-Hopkins nets the biggest goal of his career late in Game 4 to help lead the Oilers to a 5-3 win and 3-1 series advantage over the Flames
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