In all three games in this series, the Dallas Stars have been right in the game, but a flurry of Edmonton Oilers goals made each feel out of reach.
Dallas will need to figure out in Game 4 on Tuesday night how to keep Edmonton from stringing together goals if they have any thoughts of winning this NHL Western Conference Finals series.
Game 4 will start at 8 p.m. EDT, and you can watch it on ESPN and ESPN+ or livestream it on fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount) and DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount).
The Stars won Game 1, but have been outscored 9-1 since then. Zach Hyman had two goals and an assist, Connor McDavid added two goals and Edmonton took a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series on Sunday. Evan Bouchard, with a goal and an assist, and John Klingberg also scored for the Oilers, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added three assists. Stuart Skinner made 33 saves in the Edmonton net.
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Game 4 at Rogers Place will be played Tuesday night, with the series switching back to Dallas for Game 5 on Thursday evening. Unless Dallas can get its act together, the series might not go beyond Thursday.
They went nearly 100 minutes without scoring on Skinner from Games 1 through 3 of the Western Conference final. They then went another 24 minutes without a goal on the way to that 6-1 loss. With the status of injured center Roope Hintz uncertain and given that Mikko Rantanen’s playoff-opening magic seems to have worn off, the Stars need much more production from their best players to avoid getting pushed to the brink of elimination.
Dallas Stars (50-26-6, in the Central Division) vs. Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5, in the Pacific Division)
Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN and ESPN+
LIVESTREAM: fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount) and DirecTV Stream (FREE trial and discount).
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE:Oilers -166, Stars +138; over/under is 6.5
STANLEY CUP SEMIFINALS: Oilers lead series 2-1
TOP PERFORMERS: Leon Draisaitl has 52 goals and 54 assists for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has four goals and 10 assists over the last 10 games.
Matt Duchene has 30 goals and 52 assists for the Stars. Miro Heiskanen has one goal and seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Oilers: 8-2-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.6 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game.
Stars: 6-4-0, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.3 assists, 4.6 penalties and 10.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.