The Edmonton Oilers never seem to like to make things easy on themselves, and that was certainly the case in Game 4 on Sunday night. They were able to walk away with a 5-4 win to even the series at two apiece, despite trailing 3-0 heading into the first intermission. It certainly isn’t a recipe for success moving forward, but at the end of the day, they were able to battle back and get this thing squared up.
This win proves just how talented this Oilers team is, particularly on the offensive side of things. While they have yet to put together a full 60 minutes, they have proven at times through these four games what they are capable of when at their best. With that said, here are the three main takeaways from this thrilling game.
Hyman Redeems Himself
Through the first four games of this series, Zach Hyman hasn’t looked like the player Oilers fans have become accustomed to. Coming into this one, he had just a lone assist and was failing to make much of an impact in any way. That continued to be the case through the first three periods of Game 4, as he was struggling immensely with the puck on his stick.
As fate would have it, however, he was able to take an Evan Bouchard pass in overtime before firing a shot past the blocker of Joonas Korpisalo. This goal may very well have saved the Oilers’ season, as trailing 3-1 would have been a tough hole to crawl out of. Perhaps this is the goal that gets him going, as this team could certainly use him at his best for the remainder of the series.
Campbell Saves the Day
Jay Woodcroft had a tough decision to make with the Oilers trailing 3-0 after the first period. While common logic would suggest swapping goaltenders, throwing in Jack Campbell couldn’t have been an easy decision. After all, he was coming off of a horrendous season in which he recorded a 3.41 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .888 save percentage (SV%). Nonetheless, Woodcroft did indeed choose to replace Stuart Skinner with him heading into the second period, and it paid off in a big way.
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Campbell was fantastic in this one, particularly in the third period where he made a number of saves to keep his team in the game. His best of the evening came with the Oilers trailing 4-3 in the third, as he made a tremendous save on a Viktor Arvidsson breakaway to keep it a one-goal game. By the time the horn sounded, he had kicked aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced, and has likely earned himself a start in Game 5 as a result.
Kane Battling Through Pain
As this game went on, it became evidently clear that Evander Kane was battling some sort of leg injury. He was often trying to shake out the pain both on the ice as well as the bench and was clearly hobbled by it at times, particularly when trying to accelerate. The broadcast picked it up as well, as they showed him on several occasions grimacing in pain on the bench.
Despite playing at less than 100 percent, Kane continued to battle each and every shift, continuing to create scoring opportunities and throwing his weight around. He was rewarded with his valiant effort late in the third, as he was able to score his second of the series to send this one to overtime. The hope now is that he can have some time to rest and hopefully be feeling better for Game 5, as he was clearly laboring all night long.
Looking Ahead for the Oilers
With this win, these teams will now head back to Edmonton where the Oilers find themselves with home-ice advantage once again. Game 5 will take place on Tuesday night, where the Oilers will look to take a 3-2 series lead. Regardless of the outcome, however, there will be a Game 6, which will be played at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
