PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 4)

The Edmonton Oilers will try to push the Dallas Stars to the brink of elimination on Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 6:00 p.m. MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 4)

EDMONTON, AB – Trying not to mess with the good thing we have going here.

Holding a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Final, the Edmonton Oilers look to continue their strong all-around play on Tuesday night with the opportunity to push the Dallas Stars to the brink of elimination with a victory in Game 4 at Rogers Place.

The Oilers have continued to move the needle forward on their quest to return to the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year after they destroyed the Stars with a 6-1 result in Game 3 on Sunday afternoon, showcasing again the different ways they can beat their opponents and why they’re such a dangerous team when they’re firing on all cylinders.

“You’ve got to find different ways to win in the playoffs, and we capitalized on the opportunities we had last night,” said Evander Kane, who had three assists. “I thought our first and third were pretty good, and we have an opportunity to take care of home ice here and go up 2-1, so the sense of urgency is really high.”

Stuart Skinner had another terrific showing between the pipes with 33 saves on Tuesday to pick up his fourth victory in his last five starts, making 21 stops in the second period where Dallas had their best push with the Oilers leading 2-0 from goals by Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid in the opening frame.

Skinner owns a 4-1 record with a 1.18 GAA, .955 SV% and three shutouts over his last five starts, outplaying Jake Oettinger at the other end of the ice so far in this series despite the outlier of allowing four goals on 20 shots after Edmonton collapsed for five straight goals in the third period of Game 1.

Skinner's counterpart Calvin Pickard, who's been stellar himself with a 6-0 record in these playoffs before missing the last seven games because of an injury sustained in Game 2 of the Second Round against the Golden Knights, is always amazed at how his tandem partner handles the pressure.

Pickard completed a full practice on Monday morning and could return to the Oilers bench as Skinner's backup in Game 4 on Tuesday.

"He's been awesome, but it's no surprise to me. He always bounces back," Pickard said. "There are going to be games where goals go in, and it's all about what you do next, and he always bounces back. It's very impressive for a guy of his age. With the mental hurdles and the adversity he's gone through, it's crazy how in his first few years he's always bounced back from it, so he's playing really well right now and I know he's looking to keep it going."

Along with Skinner, McDavid and Bouchard, Edmonton’s stars in Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evander Kane and Leon Draisaitl came to play in Game 3 after combining for 14 points in the victory.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins contributed three assists and has now produced seven points (2G, 5A) in three games this series, while his commitment to defending and his place on the penalty kill make him the 'Swiss Army Knife' of the Oilers, who brings a lot of different intangibles to the table every night.

"I've heard the term 'Swiss Army Knife' in the last 24 hours, so I'll just continue to repeat it," Kane said. "He's a player who is very versatile. He sees the ice well, has good poise out there, can make plays, and he's had a really good playoffs. He's had an even better series. So if we can continue to get that type of game from him, that helps our team greatly."

Zach Hyman's personal vendetta against anything that moves in these playoffs – be it an opposing defenceman or the puck – has seen the winger throw an astounding 109 hits to go with five goals and six assists in 14 games after going plus-five with two goals, an assist and 10 hits in Sunday's Game 4 victory.

But defensively is where the Oilers have won games, continuing to shut down the Stars in Game 3 with the help of their offence sustaining as much possession time as possible to reduce the amount of time they have to defend hard and absorb pressure in their own zone.

In addition to finding the right combinations on the blueline in the absence of Mattias Ekholm, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch thinks the Oilers have done an incredible job figuring out their team's identity in these playoffs.

"Since I've started coaching, my emphasis has been 'a good defence is a good offence', and the more time you can spend in the offensive zone, the more time the puck's on your stick," he said. "That's not making blind passes, not giving away the puck, quality breakouts and stuff like that. I think that's really important.

"Of course, the defensive part of it where you're checking is important, but I think with this team, we've got many good offensive players who like to have the puck. I think that's part of why we're a good defensive team."

Coach Knoblauch will be forced to make at least one change to his lineup after revealing that winger Connor Brown will be unavailable in Game 4 because of a hard check he sustained from defenceman Alex Petrovic during the second period of Sunday’s 6-1 win.

With Ekholm's impending return after Knoblauch characterized his status as “undecided” for Tuesday, the Oilers could decide to go with 11 forwards and seven defencemen if the Swedish blueliner is available and if the bench boss sees value in having the extra defenceman.

But considering how well Edmonton’s defence has played since they injected Troy Stecher into the lineup in place of Ty Emberson for Game 4 of their Second Round series against the Golden Knights, you can understand the bench boss’ trepidation to alter his blueline.

"I don't want to take anybody out. It's a tough situation," Knoblauch said. "The same thing when we changed up our forwards. We took out Arvidsson and he'd been playing pretty well. We felt that our team needed something at that moment and unfortunately, he had to be the guy. Not that there was anything against his game, it was just a change. And with our defence right now, the six are playing extremely well. It's a difficult situation to handle. If you go 11 and 7, the rotation and the rhythm change. But also, you might have to take out somebody who doesn't deserve to be taken out.

Ekholm understands the need to preserve the cohesiveness currently on the Oilers blueline and feels in no rush to get back into the lineup, though he knows he'll be ready when the time comes for him to make his return at some point in this series.

"You look at Stetcher right now, he's playing unbelievable," Ekholm said. "John [Klingberg] and all these guys have come in and they've played really well. Stu obviously plays well too, so a little added extra pressure. But at the same time, I knew that my injury wasn't going to be Second Round at all. I knew at the very earliest it was Third Round. If you're in the third round, your team's not playing badly, and nobody is a passenger at that point, so that's not surprising to me.

"I'm happier that the D core has played really well throughout the playoffs. It's not my decision at the end of the day – it's the coach and the management – but if I do come in, it's just a matter of keeping it simple and trying to fit in. I've played with these guys for a bit, so I do not worry too much about that. But guys have been playing great, and I'm really happy to see how our D core has handled everything so far."