<p>After <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/26/big-dogs-bark-edmonton-oilers-game-3-win-dallas-stars/">destroying the Dallas Stars by a 6-1 score</a> on Sunday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers were back at Rogers Place for Game 4 with the chance to take a stranglehold on the Western Conference Final. And while it wasn&#8217;t always perfect, the Oilers still managed to grind out a crucial <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-one-win-from-stanley-cup-final-after-game-4-victory-over-stars">4-1 win</a> to take a 3-1 series lead heading back to the American Airline Center for Game 5.</p>
<h2><strong>RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS IS ON FIRE</strong></h2>
<p>Are you tired of <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/25/connor-mcdavid-goals-ryan-nugent-hopkins-the-warrior-edmonton-oilers-get-another-gem-stuart-skinner-game-3/">me pumping Ryan Nugent-Hopkins&#8217; tires</a> yet? Too bad. The dude is on fire, has arguably been the best skater for either side in this series, and just put up his fourth consecutive multi-point game to start off the Western Conference Final. Pretty good, right? How about if I tell you that he became the first player in the last 35 years to start a conference final with four multi-point games? He joins Wayne Gretzky (1983, 1988), Cam Neely (1990), and Craig Janney (1990) as the only other players to do what he&#8217;s done since the 70s. McDavid hasn&#8217;t done it, Draisaitl hasn&#8217;t done it, Crosby hasn&#8217;t done it&#8230; only Nuge. Incredible.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve been around long enough to remember <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/throwback-thursday-this-week-in-2011-edmonton-oilers-draft-ryan-nugent-hopkins-and-oscar-klefbom-in-first-round">when RNH got drafted</a>, you&#8217;ll likely remember how many horrible teams and seasons the guy slogged through without so much as a peep about it. He never complained, he never wanted out, and he handled his business in any role or job his (many) coaches asked him to do. So, I couldn&#8217;t be happier to see him have the success he&#8217;s had through the first four games of this series. With the two primary assists he picked up on Tuesday, Nugent-Hopkins has nine against the Stars (2G, 7A) and 18 points (5G, 13A) in 15 games overall. I know RNH had 104 points two seasons ago, but from where I was sitting in section 121, this is the best hockey I&#8217;ve ever seen him play.</p>
<h2><strong>STUART SKINNER REMAINS UNDEFEATED IN GAME 4S</strong></h2>
<p>If you haven&#8217;t heard about how unbelievable Stuart Skinner is in Game 4s of the playoffs, please allow me a moment to educate the class. Skinner is perfect in the six career Game 4s he&#8217;s played in the playoffs. Not only is he 6-0, but he&#8217;s done it with a .955 save percentage, a 1.26 goals-against average, and two shutouts. Friends, it doesn&#8217;t get much better than that. After getting tagged for five goals in Game 1, Skinner has gone on to stop 86 of 88 shots he&#8217;s faced in the three games since. That&#8217;s a ridiculous turnaround for a guy who <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/04/25/calvin-pickard-starts-edmonton-oilers-game-3-against-los-angeles-kings/">lost the crease</a> after the first two games in Los Angeles. It&#8217;s one of the best stories going. I wish I knew what was going on behind the scenes in those six games Skinner waited for his chance to get back in the crease, but whatever happened was clearly what he needed. It&#8217;s as if he found his Zen or something.</p>
<p>Either way, Stu continues to fill the net and gives the Stars nothing to shoot at, and that&#8217;s causing fits for some very good Stars scorers. And let&#8217;s be honest, had it not been for Skinner&#8217;s brilliance, we may not be talking about wins in the last two games. The Stars were the better team for big stretches of <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/25/edmonton-oilers-beat-dallas-stars-6-1-game-3/">Games 3</a> and 4, but Edmonton&#8217;s goaltender was always there to cover up the mistakes when his teammates needed him. And even though that wasn&#8217;t happening early in the run or even at times during the regular season, I can tell you that nothing erases those memories quite like watching Stu do what he&#8217;s doing at the most important time of year. The job&#8217;s not finished, but Stuart Skinner is certainly playing like he wants to make that happen.</p>
<h2><strong>ZACH HYMAN LEAVES WITH UPPER-BODY INJURY</strong></h2>
<p>You can&#8217;t have a recap of last night&#8217;s win without talking about <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/27/oilers-zach-hyman-leaves-game-4-against-stars-after-hit-by-mason-marchment/">Zach Hyman leaving the game</a> after only five shifts and 3:11 of TOI after Mason Marchment connected on a fly-by hit that clearly landed the wrong way. Hyman dropped his stick immediately after the hit and went straight down the tunnel, his right shoulder seemingly sagging as TD Forss trailed behind. I was sitting across the ice from the Oilers&#8217; bench and kept watching to see if Hyman would come back, but you knew it was bad when the rest of the first period played out and he was nowhere to be seen. He&#8217;s not the kind of player to fake it, you know?</p>
<p>While we don&#8217;t yet know what the injury is or how long Hyman will be out, it&#8217;s hard to imagine we&#8217;re going to get good news based on how he left the game. TSN&#8217;s Ryan Rishaug spoke after the game about how Zach Hyman was waiting to congratulate the boys when they got off the ice, but he was using his left hand to fist-bump the boys as they rolled through. I&#8217;m not trying to play Internet doctor here, but that doesn&#8217;t seem like it&#8217;s going to be a day-to-day thing. And honestly, I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever hoped to be wrong more than I am now. This is a big loss, no matter how you slice it.</p>
<h1>OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING</h1>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Recapping Game 4 - Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers | Oilersnation After Dark" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I36T6GX9n3U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><strong>1.</strong> Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring with a one-timer from his office along the right side, and it kicked off what was a fantastic night for the Oilers&#8217; power play. With the goal, Draisaitl became the fourth player in franchise history with 20 playoff power play goals. On a night when we needed the special teams to come through, the Oilers cashed in 2/3 with the man advantage, while killing off 3/4 at the other end of the rink.</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> I don&#8217;t know about any of you, but I&#8217;m having fun thinking about how the Oilers saved all of their empty-netters for the playoffs. It&#8217;s the only theory that makes sense. How else would you explain how no one could hit the empty cage all season long, and then we get a night like Tuesday where Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique each get one? The Hockey Gords do love testing us, don&#8217;t they?</p>
<p><strong>3.</strong> Did you know that Corey Perry is only the fifth player age 40+ to score a goal in a Conference Final game? The Worm is worming, and it is so much fun to watch. That said, I would prefer if he would stop taking penalties in the offensive zone. I know it was a flimsy call, but my point remains.</p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> Viktor Arvidsson was back in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/combinations">the lineup</a> after sitting the last five, and I thought he looked alright but not great in the 11:54 he played despite the zeroes littered across his stat line. Of course, we&#8217;re going to need a lot more from Arvy with the loss of Zach Hyman, and if ever there was a time for the guy to step up and make a difference, the opportunity is right in front of him.</p>
<p><strong>5.</strong> He finished the game and looked fine down the stretch, but it&#8217;s worth noting that Evander Kane missed the last five-ish minutes of the second period and was late getting to the bench in third. It could be nothing, but it could be something.</p>
<p><strong>6.</strong> I swear I don&#8217;t like complaining about the refs, but those were a mess in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/27/oilers-have-opportunity-put-stranglehold-on-stars/">Game 4</a>. I don&#8217;t know how many missed calls they had for both sides, but the</p>
<p><strong>7.</strong> For the fourth straight post-game article, I must regrettably report that the Oilers got killed in the faceoff dot. Our boys only won 38.8% of the draws, and I think everyone reading this knows how upsetting that is to me.</p>
<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY ODD COMPANY</strong></h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-161882 aligncenter" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1.png 727w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1-300x167.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" /></p>
<p>We’re beyond excited to announce our latest partnership with Odd Company Brewing to bring you <a href="https://www.oddcompany.ca/new-blog/2024/10/8/nationbeer-everyday-lager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the all-new Nation Beer</a> Everyday Lager! Whether you&#8217;re watching the big game, chilling with friends, or just kicking back after a long day, this crisp, refreshing lager is the perfect choice. It’s the brew you can count on anytime, anywhere. So, why not make it your next game-day tradition? Nation Beer Everyday Lager is available now at Odd Company Brewing and through Liquor Connect. Don’t miss out—grab yours today and take your beer game to the next level! Cheers, Nation Citizens!</p>


Edmonton Oilers celebrate Game 4 win over Dallas Stars

After <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/26/big-dogs-bark-edmonton-oilers-game-3-win-dallas-stars/">destroying the Dallas Stars by a 6-1 score</a> on Sunday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers were back at Rogers Place for Game 4 with the chance to take a stranglehold on the Western Conference Final. And while it wasn't always perfect, the Oilers still managed to grind out a crucial <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-one-win-from-stanley-cup-final-after-game-4-victory-over-stars">4-1 win</a> to take a 3-1 series lead heading back to the American Airline Center for Game 5.
<h2><strong>RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS IS ON FIRE</strong></h2>
Are you tired of <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/25/connor-mcdavid-goals-ryan-nugent-hopkins-the-warrior-edmonton-oilers-get-another-gem-stuart-skinner-game-3/">me pumping Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' tires</a> yet? Too bad. The dude is on fire, has arguably been the best skater for either side in this series, and just put up his fourth consecutive multi-point game to start off the Western Conference Final. Pretty good, right? How about if I tell you that he became the first player in the last 35 years to start a conference final with four multi-point games? He joins Wayne Gretzky (1983, 1988), Cam Neely (1990), and Craig Janney (1990) as the only other players to do what he's done since the 70s. McDavid hasn't done it, Draisaitl hasn't done it, Crosby hasn't done it... only Nuge. Incredible.

If you've been around long enough to remember <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/throwback-thursday-this-week-in-2011-edmonton-oilers-draft-ryan-nugent-hopkins-and-oscar-klefbom-in-first-round">when RNH got drafted</a>, you'll likely remember how many horrible teams and seasons the guy slogged through without so much as a peep about it. He never complained, he never wanted out, and he handled his business in any role or job his (many) coaches asked him to do. So, I couldn't be happier to see him have the success he's had through the first four games of this series. With the two primary assists he picked up on Tuesday, Nugent-Hopkins has nine against the Stars (2G, 7A) and 18 points (5G, 13A) in 15 games overall. I know RNH had 104 points two seasons ago, but from where I was sitting in section 121, this is the best hockey I've ever seen him play.
<h2><strong>STUART SKINNER REMAINS UNDEFEATED IN GAME 4S</strong></h2>
If you haven't heard about how unbelievable Stuart Skinner is in Game 4s of the playoffs, please allow me a moment to educate the class. Skinner is perfect in the six career Game 4s he's played in the playoffs. Not only is he 6-0, but he's done it with a .955 save percentage, a 1.26 goals-against average, and two shutouts. Friends, it doesn't get much better than that. After getting tagged for five goals in Game 1, Skinner has gone on to stop 86 of 88 shots he's faced in the three games since. That's a ridiculous turnaround for a guy who <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/04/25/calvin-pickard-starts-edmonton-oilers-game-3-against-los-angeles-kings/">lost the crease</a> after the first two games in Los Angeles. It's one of the best stories going. I wish I knew what was going on behind the scenes in those six games Skinner waited for his chance to get back in the crease, but whatever happened was clearly what he needed. It's as if he found his Zen or something.

Either way, Stu continues to fill the net and gives the Stars nothing to shoot at, and that's causing fits for some very good Stars scorers. And let's be honest, had it not been for Skinner's brilliance, we may not be talking about wins in the last two games. The Stars were the better team for big stretches of <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/25/edmonton-oilers-beat-dallas-stars-6-1-game-3/">Games 3</a> and 4, but Edmonton's goaltender was always there to cover up the mistakes when his teammates needed him. And even though that wasn't happening early in the run or even at times during the regular season, I can tell you that nothing erases those memories quite like watching Stu do what he's doing at the most important time of year. The job's not finished, but Stuart Skinner is certainly playing like he wants to make that happen.
<h2><strong>ZACH HYMAN LEAVES WITH UPPER-BODY INJURY</strong></h2>
You can't have a recap of last night's win without talking about <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/27/oilers-zach-hyman-leaves-game-4-against-stars-after-hit-by-mason-marchment/">Zach Hyman leaving the game</a> after only five shifts and 3:11 of TOI after Mason Marchment connected on a fly-by hit that clearly landed the wrong way. Hyman dropped his stick immediately after the hit and went straight down the tunnel, his right shoulder seemingly sagging as TD Forss trailed behind. I was sitting across the ice from the Oilers' bench and kept watching to see if Hyman would come back, but you knew it was bad when the rest of the first period played out and he was nowhere to be seen. He's not the kind of player to fake it, you know?

While we don't yet know what the injury is or how long Hyman will be out, it's hard to imagine we're going to get good news based on how he left the game. TSN's Ryan Rishaug spoke after the game about how Zach Hyman was waiting to congratulate the boys when they got off the ice, but he was using his left hand to fist-bump the boys as they rolled through. I'm not trying to play Internet doctor here, but that doesn't seem like it's going to be a day-to-day thing. And honestly, I don't think I've ever hoped to be wrong more than I am now. This is a big loss, no matter how you slice it.
<h1>OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING</h1>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I36T6GX9n3U

<strong>1.</strong> Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring with a one-timer from his office along the right side, and it kicked off what was a fantastic night for the Oilers' power play. With the goal, Draisaitl became the fourth player in franchise history with 20 playoff power play goals. On a night when we needed the special teams to come through, the Oilers cashed in 2/3 with the man advantage, while killing off 3/4 at the other end of the rink.

<strong>2.</strong> I don't know about any of you, but I'm having fun thinking about how the Oilers saved all of their empty-netters for the playoffs. It's the only theory that makes sense. How else would you explain how no one could hit the empty cage all season long, and then we get a night like Tuesday where Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique each get one? The Hockey Gords do love testing us, don't they?

<strong>3.</strong> Did you know that Corey Perry is only the fifth player age 40+ to score a goal in a Conference Final game? The Worm is worming, and it is so much fun to watch. That said, I would prefer if he would stop taking penalties in the offensive zone. I know it was a flimsy call, but my point remains.

<strong>4.</strong> Viktor Arvidsson was back in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/combinations">the lineup</a> after sitting the last five, and I thought he looked alright but not great in the 11:54 he played despite the zeroes littered across his stat line. Of course, we're going to need a lot more from Arvy with the loss of Zach Hyman, and if ever there was a time for the guy to step up and make a difference, the opportunity is right in front of him.

<strong>5.</strong> He finished the game and looked fine down the stretch, but it's worth noting that Evander Kane missed the last five-ish minutes of the second period and was late getting to the bench in third. It could be nothing, but it could be something.

<strong>6.</strong> I swear I don't like complaining about the refs, but those were a mess in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/05/27/oilers-have-opportunity-put-stranglehold-on-stars/">Game 4</a>. I don't know how many missed calls they had for both sides, but the

<strong>7.</strong> For the fourth straight post-game article, I must regrettably report that the Oilers got killed in the faceoff dot. Our boys only won 38.8% of the draws, and I think everyone reading this knows how upsetting that is to me.
<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY ODD COMPANY</strong></h2>
<img class="size-full wp-image-161882 aligncenter" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

We’re beyond excited to announce our latest partnership with Odd Company Brewing to bring you <a href="https://www.oddcompany.ca/new-blog/2024/10/8/nationbeer-everyday-lager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the all-new Nation Beer</a> Everyday Lager! Whether you're watching the big game, chilling with friends, or just kicking back after a long day, this crisp, refreshing lager is the perfect choice. It’s the brew you can count on anytime, anywhere. So, why not make it your next game-day tradition? Nation Beer Everyday Lager is available now at Odd Company Brewing and through Liquor Connect. Don’t miss out—grab yours today and take your beer game to the next level! Cheers, Nation Citizens!

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