With an opportunity to tie the series on home ice, Game 4 was a massive moment for the Edmonton Oilers and one they needed to take advantage of. There’s an enormous difference between being tied 2-2 and down 3-1, meaning the only acceptable outcome was finding a way to win. And while the Oilers definitely took the hard road to getting there, our boys managed to erase a two-goal deficit in the third period, push the game to overtime, dominate the bonus period, and cash in a series-tying 4-3 victory to cap off an insane night at Rogers Place. Did anyone else need a smoke after that?

Only 32 NHL teams have ever successfully overturned 3–1 series deficits in the playoffs going back to 1918, and that’s the situation the Oilers would have been in had they dropped a pivotal Game 4 on home ice. If the saying is that you’re never in trouble until you lose on home ice, then the boys did their part to defend their rink and turn this series into a best-of-three heading back to Los Angeles. Heading back to Crypto.com Arena down by two games would have been the worst-case scenario for an Oilers club that hasn’t had any success in that barn all season. We all know how good the Kings have been at home, but now the Oilers only need to find a way to steal one on the road. That’s a massive swing from where we would have been had the result gone the other way.

If the Oilers are going to head into L.A. and make some magic happen, the need for a full 60-minute effort will be crucial. As much as it was a blast to watch the boys come roaring back to win, it would be just as fun and way less stressful to play with the lead a little more. It would be just as fun if they scored a goal early, played sound defensive hockey, and cruised to a puck-line finish. And I’m telling you if the Oilers can pull out an effort like that tomorrow night at Crypto, the series will be theirs for the fourth consecutive time because I find it hard to believe that the Kings will have enough fight left to overcome the heartbreak. The Oilers are living rent-free in L.A. these days, and picking up a win in Game 5 could be the next step in renewing the lease.

The Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard pairing was an adventure on Sunday, right? It’s one thing when your third pairing struggles with the puck, but it’s another problem entirely when it’s the two d-men who play the most minutes. Nurse and Bouchard were on the ice for three goals before the midway point, and it was a frustrating result from two guys we need to be our best defencemen. But the best part about sports is that things can change quickly. Bouchard responded in the back half of the game with two massive goals that erased L.A.’s lead and sent the game to overtime, redeeming a night that started in less than stellar fashion. With the back-to-back two-goal performances, Bouchard became only the fourth d-man in NHL history to do so, and the first since Rob Blake did it back in 2002.

It was the kind of night where you got both edges of the sword that is Evan Bouchard. While there are undoubtedly warts on the defensive side of his game, he’s also capable of single-handedly changing the game with that shot. Just when you think you’ve had enough with him, the guy redeems himself with two massive goals that pushed the game to overtime. It’s boom or bust all the time, and the rollercoaster rolls on every single night. But even so, you can count me firmly in the camp of believing he creates way more good than he does bad, but that there are moments when the defensive side of his game will send us into blinding rage. Last night, we got both sides of the coin with Bouchard, but the thing I’ll remember from his night was the massive goals he scored, way more so than the mistakes he can hopefully learn to carve out of his game.

With an early playoff elimination creeping around the corner, the Oilers needed to hit the ice as if this was the last game they’d ever play. While it was not technically a must-win game, it was in the spiritual sense. So, to have the Oilers look as sketchy as they did early was as concerning as it was infuriating. There were missed assignments and odd-man rushes at one end of the ice, and limited offensive opportunities and only six shots on net at the other. Frankly, I was expecting more from the Oilers to start that game, and they were lucky to only be down by a single goal at the intermission.

Outside of Connor McDavid — he was flying around all over the place — there weren’t many forwards who should be thrilled with their start. We needed guys to rise to the moment, but instead we got passengers and puck watchers for most of the 20 minutes. As annoying as it was being down on the scoreboard again, it was almost a blessing that the deficit was only one goal. Of course, what happened in the following 58:18 after that rough first period was one of the wildest rollercoaster games you could ever imagine. But if our boys are going to head onto the road and steal Game 5, they’ll need more of the game they offered down the stretch than the one that saw them scrambling through the opening 20 minutes.

1. As much as it was amazing to watch Leon Draisaitl register four points in a critical Game 4, it was equally fascinating to see him score his first-ever OT winner in the playoffs. The guy has a dump truck’s worth of points in the playoffs over the last handful of years, but now he’s got a massive game-winner in the bonus period thrown onto the resume. We needed our best players to be our best players on Sunday, and Leon Draisaitl answered the bell once again.

2. An equal shout out goes to Connor McDavid, who was flying all over the ice from his first shift to his last. If the Oilers were going to win on Sunday, they needed their captain to bring his A-game, and he did exactly that. In 30:47 of TOI, McDavid picked up a pair of assists to go along with seven (!!!) shots on goal, 60% on the dot, two PIMs, and a +1 rating.

3. Calvin Pickard is a fighter. After giving up an early goal he’d probably want to have back and two more through the first 40 minutes, Pickard locked the door down the stretch and outdueled his counterpart at the other end for the second straight game. Even though he only faced 13 shots in the third period and overtime, Pickard was steady and solid when called upon. Much like he did in Game 3, our pal Cal kept battling regardless of what was happening in front of him, and the result was a .927 save percentage on 41 shots and a huge win to give his team a real shot at winning the series.

4. Special teams are so important. A significant difference in Game 4 was that the Oilers shut the Kings out on all three opportunities they had with the man advantage while scoring two goals on three of their own. That was the complete opposite of the results we were getting earlier in the series, and could be a lethal blow to the Kings’ chances should the trend continue.

5. Were you surprised Warren Foegele scored another big goal against us? You weren’t, were you? But where were you on Kris Knoblauch’s decision not to challenge the play when his goaltender very clearly thought there was goalie interference?

6. It may be my unofficial count, but I’m pretty sure the Oilers missed the net 285 times last night. The boards and glass need to be replaced, but the goal light is fine.

7. In case you were wondering, my second unofficial count on missed penalties for the Kings was 12. Thankfully, their luck ran out in the OT period.

8. How will you ever continue with your Monday if I don’t remind you that the Oilers won only 45.9% of the faceoffs in Game 4? Now you know, and you may proceed with your day.

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