Dallas, TX
Stars-Oilers feels like a toss-up after Dallas surrenders its road mystique in Game 4 loss
Wayne Gretzky was less than a decade removed from winning four Stanley Cups in Edmonton, so when he took the ice for a puck drop before a Stars-Oilers playoff game at Edmonton Coliseum in the late ‘90s, I watched and listened as delirium ensued.
It’s a bit quieter a generation later when The Great One speaks on the TNT studio broadcast, but when a man has 894 goals and 2,857 points to his credit, you might as well listen. And he didn’t exactly speak to fire up his old Oilers team Wednesday night.
”I think the Stars are gonna sit back in the locker room and say, ‘We don’t want to come back to Edmonton, we win tonight and we take this thing home.’ They’re going to come out hard in the first period,’’ Gretzky said.
Just 5 1/2 minutes into the first period of Game 4, Dallas had grabbed a 2-0 lead. The NHL’s best road team, one that had no trouble limiting high-scoring Colorado to one goal in each of the three games played in Denver the last round, was riding high.
Now The Great One did not have much to say regarding what might come later. And at the end of two periods, the Oilers had outshot Dallas 24-14, held a 4-2 advantage, sent two Stars down the tunnel in the second period — forward Mason Marchment (puck to the face) and defenseman Chris Tanev (puck to the unpadded leg) — and taken charge of Game 4. The Period of the Long Change had become the Period of the Long Series.
Marchment returned for the third period but Tanev, the trade deadline acquisition hailed by many as the best in the league who was so instrumental in keeping Jack Eichel and Nathan MacKinnon from killing this team the first two rounds, did not. As a result, Dallas lost a 5-2 game that included a late empty-netter. The Oilers were the first playoff team to score five unanswered goals on Dallas since Vegas won the Western Conference finals clincher 6-0 in Dallas last May.
Although the series will be tied at 2-2 when the puck drops Friday at the AAC — same as it was for Game 5 against Vegas about a month ago — this has to be a worrisome turn of events. As is so often the case in the Stanley Cup playoffs, all the things we thought we had learned from two straight Dallas wins pretty much got upended at Rogers Place on Wednesday.
Like the Oilers can’t score on the power play. Who cares? Neither can Dallas. And Edmonton took the lead in the middle of the second period on the series’ first special teams goal, a short-handed swipe by former Stars forward Mattias Janmark. When Leon Draisaitl knocked in his 10th goal of the playoffs just 51 seconds later, the Oilers had turned Dallas’ two-goal lead on its head and carried the 4-2 advantage into the final period.
Or like Dallas’ road mystique will carry the club. Suddenly a 6-1 record away from the AAC is a 6-2 record that doesn’t scare anybody in Edmonton.
On this night there was no pushback from the Stars. In Game 3, the Stars had erupted from a 2-0 deficit to strike three times in a span of 3:33 to gain control of the game. In Game 4 … a lot of nothing. Not even any great chances to speak of. Heck, the biggest save of the night was made by Jake Oettinger’s stick after he had completely lost it and it deflected a Connor McDavid shot deep in the crease.
In two nights in Edmonton, the Oilers scored eight goals without a drop from the league’s finest power play. They won Game 1 in Dallas without a power play goal. Although the regular season numbers favor Dallas, we know Edmonton got off to a terrible start the first 20 games before recording the most points in the last three-fourths of the season. The sense that Dallas has the edge in goal with Oettinger over Stuart Skinner still hangs in the air … but it hasn’t always meant much in these Western Conference finals and was completely irrelevant Wednesday.
What comes next? Jason Robertson broke out with a hat trick in Game 3 but Dallas’ top line of Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin and Robo fired blanks Wednesday night. Nothing has been easy or quick for the Stars, taking seven games to knock off the Golden Knights and another six to vanquish Colorado. This one will go at least six and the dead-even nature of the series suggests the team that’s down after Game 5 will find a way to push on to Game 7.
Maybe then the Stars can ride Pete DeBoer’s 8-0 record in seventh games one more time to reach the Cup Final. History isn’t always the best card to play, but when your scoring and power play are inconsistent and your defense has just taken another hit, you hang onto any cards at your disposal.
Photos: Oilers’ barrage downs Stars in Game 4, ties series
On X/Twitter: @TimCowlishaw
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
DALLAS – Slow-moving thunderstorms brought localized flash flooding to parts of North Texas on Tuesday evening, blocking highways near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and dropping several inches of rain in portions of Tarrant and Parker counties.
Flash Flood Warnings
Local perspective:
Flash flood warnings are in effect for Hopkins, Hunt, Rains and Van Zandt counties until 7:45 p.m.
Flooding was reported along Texas 183 near Valley View Lane south of DFW Airport, where stranded vehicles and water-covered roadways created hazardous travel conditions.
A flash flood warning remained in effect near the airport, although rainfall rates had begun to diminish as the storm weakened.
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
The National Weather Service also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Hood County, citing the potential for gusty winds and small hail. Forecasters reported hail ranging from pea-sized to marble-sized in parts of Hood, Parker and Denton counties.
Forecasters attributed the weakening storms in Denton County to an outflow boundary, a meteorological feature that can disrupt thunderstorm development.
The warning area was reduced as the storm weakened near sunset.
LIVE RADAR
What they’re saying:
FOX 4’s Kylie Capps said the storms moved unusually slowly from east to west, allowing heavy rain to accumulate over the same areas for several hours.
Rainfall estimates showed some locations in eastern Parker County and western Tarrant County received nearly 5 inches of rain during a six-hour period, while areas near DFW Airport recorded more than 2 inches.
Elsewhere in North Texas, northern Rains County received nearly 5 inches of rain.
7-Day Forecast
What’s next:
Forecasters expect a quieter overnight period, with only isolated showers lingering into the evening. Additional thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon, though coverage and the threat of severe weather are expected to remain limited.
Temperatures are forecast to reach about 90 degrees Wednesday.
Rain chances are expected to continue through the remainder of the workweek and into the weekend as an upper-level low-pressure system sends multiple disturbances across North Texas.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Weather Team
Monday was a wild day for the NFL with two blockbuster trades. First was Myles Garrett, who both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were rumored to have interest in.
Cowboys fans never bought into these rumors, knowing that Jerry Jones was unlikely to make such an investment. The Eagles, however, have been known to get aggressive. Thankfully for Dallas fans, they didn’t make the move as the Cleveland Browns sent Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse and a package of picks.
Not long after that trade was finalized, the Eagles did wind up making a trade. After months of speculation surrounding A.J. Brown and the New England Patriots, the two sides made it official as Brown was reunited with Mike Vrabel in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
Dallas Cowboys could take the NFC East crown in 2026
The writing has been on the wall all offseason regarding Brown, who has been unhappy with the Eagles for a while. His departure seemed confirmed when they traded up with Dallas in the 2026 NFL draft for USC receiver Makai Lemon.
While Lemon has the tools to be a difference-maker, he won’t be able to perform at the same level as Brown during his rookie season. The Eagles do still have DeVonta Smith at receiver as well as running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
That said, there’s no denying that they’re weaker this season than they were with Brown. Just as important, however, is the fact that general manager Howie Roseman didn’t pull off a shocking move for Garrett, which would have made them the overwhelming favorites in the division.
Cowboys chances hinge on defensive changes
Another reason the Cowboys are confident they can hang with Philadelphia this season is the presence of Christian Parker, who they hired as their defensive coordinator after he spent the past two seasons as the passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Eagles.
Parker brings in a new scheme and plenty of confidence, but more importantly, he has several new weapons at his disposal. Dallas traded for veterans Rashan Gary and Dee Winters, signed Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant, and selected Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence in the draft.
Those are just some of the moves they made on defense, and they’re banking on that to be enough to help propel them past the team that has won the division the past two seasons.
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