Stars vs. Oilers: Will Dallas extend the series or will Edmonton reach the final? Analysis

Some teams perform better when they are against the wall. The [Dallas Stars](/nhl/team/_/name/dal/dallas-stars) find themselves in that situation.

Contents

Meeting Notes Leaders in Annotations

The [Edmonton Oilers](/nhl/team/_/name/edm/edmonton-oilers) lead the Stars 3-1 in the Western Conference finals, heading into Game 5 on Thursday night.

Can the Stars force a Game 6 in Alberta? Or will the Oilers seal their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, joining the [Florida Panthers](/nhl/team/_/name/fla/florida-panthers) for the second year in a row?

Meeting Notes

Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers

Game 5 | 8 p.m. ET The Oilers’ odds to win the Western Conference Finals are now at -1200, up from -375 before Game 4. Meanwhile, the Stars’ odds to win the series are now at +600, up from +280 when the series was 2-1. Edmonton is now +110 to win the Cup, while Dallas is +1400. [Connor McDavid](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/3895074/connor-mcdavid) leads the Conn Smythe odds list, at +130; [Leon Draisaitl](http://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/3114727/leon-draisaitl) (+650) is the only other player in this series under 10-1.

Edmonton now has a 6-1 home record this postseason, outscoring their opponents 33-17. The Oilers have a 17-1 record in best-of-seven series when leading 3-1; their only loss was in the 1989 division semifinals against the [Los Angeles Kings](/nhl/team/_/name/la/los-angeles-kings).

Dallas has been outscored 10-0 on the road in the first period this postseason, becoming the first team in Stanley Cup playoff history to not score a goal in the first period on the road in eight games of a single playoff year. They have lost all 16 best-of-seven series when trailing 3-1. Draisaitl scored a power-play goal and an assist in Game 4, the 13th game-opening goal of a playoff game in his career, which ties [Wayne Gretzky](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4128/wayne-gretzky) and [Glenn Anderson](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4477/glenn-anderson) for the most in franchise history. It was his 20th career power-play goal in the postseason, placing him fourth in Oilers franchise history, behind Gretzky (23), [Jari Kurri](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4407/jari-kurri) (22), and Anderson (22).

With another multi-point game, McDavid now has more career playoff games with two or more points (45) than with one or zero points combined (44).

[Stuart Skinner](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4268767/stuart-skinner) has a 5-1 record in his last six starts, and his 24th playoff win puts him ahead of [Andy Moog](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/m/moogan01.html) for third place in franchise history; [Bill Ranford](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/758/bill-ranford) is second with 25, while [Grant Fuhr](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/289/grant-fuhr) is number 1 with 74. [Jason Robertson](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4233875/jason-robertson) scored a power-play goal in the Game 4 loss. His seven power-play goals in the last four postseasons are the most for the Stars in that span.

Dallas player, [Mikko Rantanen](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/3899938/mikko-rantanen), finished without goals on two shots on goal. He now has a seven-game scoreless streak, which is the longest in a single postseason (2022, with the [Colorado Avalanche](/nhl/team/_/name/col/colorado-avalanche)).

With his next win, Stars’ goalie, [Jake Oettinger](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4196914/jake-oettinger), will move up in the ranking of playoff wins by a U.S.-born goalie. His 32 are tied for fourth with [Jon Casey](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4487/jon-casey) and [Frank Brimsek](https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/brimsfr01.html), behind [Tom Barrasso](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/40/tom-barrasso) (61), [Jonathan Quick](http://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/3634/jonathan-quick) (49), and [Mike Richter](https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/781/mike-richter) (41).