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.
The Dallas Cowboys boasted one of the best offenses in the NFL this past season, but it wasn’t enough to get them into the playoffs. Even with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Javonte Williams, they were unable to make up for their porous defense, finishing the season 7-9-1.
This offseason, Dallas was on a mission to fix that defense. Jerry Jones vowed he would put in the work and while they might not have an elite unit, they definitely look improved on paper.
With the biggest moves this offseason done, let’s rank the position groups for the Cowboys, which begins with the most obvious strength.
Wide Receiver
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are arguably the best duo in the game, which makes this the Cowboys’ strongest position on its own. Throw in Ryan Flournoy, who had a breakout season in 2025, and it looks even better.
Dallas has depth beyond this as well, with KaVontae Turpin, who had 396 yards receiving last year, as their WR4. Even rookie seventh-round pick Anthony Smith has some upside.
Safety
Rookie Caleb Downs immediately makes this group better, but he’s not the only addition. The Cowboys also signed Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency. For good measure, they also have Malik Hooker as they turned a perennial weakness into a strength this offseason.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott carries this group, especially after another spectacular season. Behind Prescott, however, the Cowboys are still strong with Joe Milton III and Sam Howell. Either player could wind up as the QB2 and could keep the offense going in the short-term.
Defensive Line
Defensive tackle has been a weakness for years, but Jones decided that had to change. Entering 2026, Dallas has Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Otitto Ogbonnia, Jonathan Bullard, and rookie LT Overton, which is a solid group.
Offensive Line
The interior of the Dallas offensive line could make this one of the best groups overall with Cooper Beebe, Tyler Smith, and Tyler Guyton all standing out at their respective positions.
The problem is that offensive tackle has some concerns. Tyler Guyton hasn’t lived up to his draft status and Terence Steele hasn’t played up to his contract. Drew Shelton could eventually take over for one, but the rookie needs time to develop.
EDGE
There’s not an All-Pro on the edge like there was when Micah Parsons was in Dallas, but the group is much deeper this season. Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Malachi Lawrence, and James Houston can all have big roles this season. They’re even going to try Marist Liufau on the edge, but the depth might be an issue for him.
Tight End
Jake Ferguson had eight touchdowns in 2025, which was huge. The problem is that he struggled with ball security, hardly had any yards after the catch, and finished with an average of just 7.3 yards per reception.
Luke Schoonmaker has been the TE2, but he could be pushed by Brevyn Spann-Ford. Undrafted free agent Michael Trigg is a player to watch, but he’s unlikely to produce much as a rookie.
Cornerback
Defensive coordinator Christian Parker is a fan of Shavon Revel, and if he can turn him into a starter, that would be huge for this position.
Right now, there are far too many questions, with the durability of DaRon Bland being chief among them.
Entering OTAs, there’s a chance free agent pickup Cobie Durant could be their best option at cornerback. He’s a solid addition, but they need someone else to step up as well.
Linebacker
We recently noted that linebacker remains the greatest need on this team. They did a great job by trading for Dee Winters and rookie Jaishawn Barham could wind up being a great fit.
That said, they need DeMarvion Overshown to stay healthy for this group to succeed. If he misses time, their lack of depth will hurt them.
Running Back
Linebacker might be the primary need, but running back comes in last here due to the concerns behind Javonte Williams.
There’s no denying that Williams is a stud. He broke out in 2025 with 1,201 yards but the depth is questionable. If second-year back Jaydon Blue improves, this position group would climb the ranks in a hurry. For now, however, there are too many question marks.
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Morton started 15 games in 1972 for an injured Staubach, who eventually returned in the playoffs. The Cowboys decided to trade Morton in 1974 to the Giants, who sent back a first-round pick, which turned out to be the No. 2 overall pick in 1975. The Cowboys used that selection to take Randy White, a 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer.
Ironically enough, White’s best game was likely Super Bowl XII, when he was named Co-MVP with Harvey Martin. The Cowboys’ Doomsday defense dominated the Broncos, who were quarterbacked by Morton.
Overall, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants and Broncos before officially retiring at the end of the 1982 season.
His career ended with 27,908 passing yards, ranking him 71st in NFL history, just ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Namath (27,663).
With the official NFL schedule coming this week, the Dallas Cowboys have revealed when, where and against who their Week 1 contest will be.
The Cowboys announced that they will square off against the New York Giants on the road in Week 1, with the game set for Sunday, Sept. 13, at 7:20 p.m. CT. So, it’s prime time for the Cowboys to start the season.
This is the second game we know about for the Cowboys this year. Of course, we know they will be playing on Thanksgiving, also.
The official schedule will drop on May 14, the NFL announced last week. Schedules for all 32 teams will be revealed on ESPN and the NFL Network, but each team will unveil its own schedule on social media, also.
The Cowboys were always likely to play a road game in Week 1 because of an Usher and Chris Brown concert taking place at AT&T Stadium that week.
Dallas will also be impacted by an Ed Sheeran concert in Week 7, so that’s another potential road game. They could also play on Monday or Thursday that week, or have a bye.
Cowboys’ strength of schedule
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Cowboys are not going to have an easy road to make the postseason.
The Cowboys have the fourth-toughest schedule in the NFL going into the 2026 season, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.
Dallas’ schedule is also the third-toughest in the NFC, and the most difficult in the NFC East.
Sharp does his strength of schedule rankings based on win totals from Vegas oddsmakers rather than utilizing the previous season’s records because that metric doesn’t factor in offseason changes.
The Cowboys will play home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.
On the road, Dallas will square off against the Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Of those opponents, seven of them made the postseason in 2025, a list that includes the Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers.
All of those teams should be as good in 2026, and teams like the Colts, Titans, Ravens, Bucs, Giants and Commanders have a very real chance to be improved as well.
It won’t be an easy road for Dallas to get back to the playoffs in 2026, but there’s at least hope following a defensive overhaul.
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