Hintz game-time decision for Dallas, which looks to even series; Arvidsson replaces injured Brown for Edmonton
© Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswear
EDMONTON — The Dallas Stars will try to tie the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN, ESPN+).
After winning 6-3 in Game 1, Dallas lost 3-0 in Game 2 and 6-1 in Game 3.
“It’s kind of funny,” Stars center Matt Duchene said. “Probably our worst game of the series is the one we won. I think the last two have been pretty solid. It’s easy to say, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to go get results.”
Scoring first would help. The Stars have gotten the first goal three times in 16 games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and not once on the road, where they are 2-5 and have lost three in a row.
In each game of the conference final, they not only have allowed the first goal, but they have entered the third period behind by at least two goals.
“I think probably for me the biggest factor so far in the three games has been, we’re chasing every game,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’re behind in every game pushing for offense, and if you’re a couple feet out of position pushing for offense and the puck goes the other way with some of the guys they have over there on the ice, you’re in trouble.”
Teams that have taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 series have won 91.0 percent of the time (323-32).
Can the Stars take Game 4 to tie the series?
Here is a breakdown of Game 4:
Stars: DeBoer said center Roope Hintz will be a game-time decision. Hintz left Game 2 because of a lower-body injury after taking a slash from Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. He tried to warm up for Game 3 but left the ice early and didn’t play. Forward Jason Robertson scored his first goal of the playoffs in Game 3, his best performance since he returned from a lower-body injury in Game 1 of the second round against the Winnipeg Jets. But several forwards remain in scoring droughts, including Evgenii Dadonov (14 games), Jamie Benn (13 games), Mason Marchment (11 games), Wyatt Johnston (six games) and Mikko Rantanen (six games).
Oilers: Forward Viktor Arvidsson will replace Connor Brown, who left Game 3 because of an undisclosed injury after taking a hit from Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic. Goalie Stuart Skinner is 4-1 with a 1.18 goals-against average, .955 save percentage and three shutouts in his past five games, and had perhaps his best performance of the playoffs in Game 3, stopping 33 of 34 shots. Center Connor McDavid leads the playoffs with 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 14 games, followed by teammate Leon Draisaitl, who has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 14 games, and Rantanen, who has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 16 games.
Number to know: 1.12. That’s how many points per game Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard has averaged in the playoffs (75 points in 67 games), second in NHL history among defensemen behind Bobby Orr, who averaged 1.24.
What to look for: Can the Stars find a way to finish offensively? Does Skinner stay hot?
“It’s all part of the ups and downs of the playoffs. That’s the great thing about playoff hockey. When you don’t play the game you want to, you get to do it again 48 hours later. I’ve been in this position before personally, and I’m excited to put the gear back on and try to get my game.” — Stars goalie Jake Oettinger, who allowed six goals in Game 3, tying his NHL career high in the playoffs
“He was huge for us last game when we needed him. We needed him probably more than we would have liked to. So if he can continue playing the way he’s playing down the stretch the rest of the series, in the playoffs, we really, really like our chances.” — Oilers forward Evander Kane on goalie Stuart Skinner
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
Mikael Granlund — Roope Hintz — Mikko Rantanen
Mason Marchment — Matt Duchene — Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Evgenii Dadonov
Jason Robertson — Sam Steel — Colin Blackwell
Esa Lindell — Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley — Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel — Alexander Petrovic
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Oskar Back, Mavrik Bourque, Mathew Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin, Brendan Smith
Injured: Nils Lundkvist (shoulder)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Kasperi Kapanen
Evander Kane — Adam Henrique — Viktor Arvidsson
Trent Frederic — Mattias Janmark — Corey Perry
Brett Kulak — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Troy Stecher
Jake Walman — John Klingberg
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Joshua Brown, Cam Dineen, Ty Emberson, Max Jones, Derek Ryan, Jeff Skinner
Injured: Connor Brown (undisclosed), Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed)
Status report
Back replaced Hintz for Game 3 on Sunday and the forward could remain in the lineup if Hintz isn’t able to play. … Pickard will dress for the first time since he was injured during a collision in the crease during Game 2 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. … Ekholm continues to practice with the Oilers but the defenseman will not play Tuesday.
