Last year, the Edmonton Oilers needed a win in Game 4 to tie their conference final series against the Dallas Stars. This year, the Oilers have a prime opportunity to take a 3-1 series stranglehold.

If the Oilers hold a 3-1 series lead, their odds of winning the series look pretty great. Edmonton has a record of 17-1 whenever it is up 3-1 in a series. The Oilers last held a 3-1 series advantage against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

If Edmonton gets the job done on Tuesday, we’ll inch closer and closer to a Stanley Cup Final rematch of last year’s matchup between the Oilers and Florida Panthers.

How to watch Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers
Venue: Rogers Place — Edmonton, Alberta
Time: 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday
TV (U.S.): ESPN
TV (CAN): Sportsnet, CBC, TVA Sports
Stream: Fubo (try for free)
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.

Games on ESPN can also be streamed on ESPN+.

Stars at Oilers Game 4

Oilers lead series 2-1

Series odds: Oilers -375, Stars +300

If you still believe in MoneyPuck’s Deserve-O-Meter, the Stars probably should have come away victorious in Game 3. Instead, the Oilers capitalized on their opportunities and leaned on strong goaltending from Stuart Skinner (A .971 save percentage!).

It would help the Stars if their best players came alive. Jason Robertson, at least, did with his Game 3 goal — his first goal of the postseason — after firing five shots on net, the most he’s shot all playoffs. Wyatt Johnston, meanwhile, is on a six-game scoreless streak. Finally, Mikko Rantanen has no goals in his last six games.

There are too many of the Stars’ big guns firing blanks right now. So, if you think the Stars are due to break out of those droughts, Game 4 could be the game. Dallas is 39-27 all-time in Game 4s in their team history, their best win percentage of any playoff games in a best-of-seven series.

Meanwhile, the Oilers’ supporting cast continues to shine. Three Oilers had three-point games in Game 3: Zach Hyman, Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Evan Bouchard and ex-Star John Klingberg also scored.

Edmonton is always going to attract attention with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at the forefront, but the Oilers are nearly unbeatable when everything else works for them, especially when Skinner is on his game. One thing he hasn’t done yet: win three games in a row this postseason. He has, however, won back-to-back starts on two occasions (allowing one goal in his four wins) this spring. The last time Skinner won three playoff games in a row? Last year’s Cup final against Florida, not long after McDavid told his teammates their Cup final performance wasn’t good enough.

Expert picks

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(Photo of Connor McDavid: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)