3 Takeaways From Oilers’ Game 4 Victory Over Golden Knights

As it turns out, the fourth game of a playoff round is kind of Skinner’s thing: according to Sportsnet, Skinner’s career GAA of 1.31 in Game 4s is the lowest in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. He’s now won five consecutive Game 4s, stopping 133 of 137 shots in the process. This was the second playoff shutout of his career, and both have come in the fourth game of a series.

With Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard expected to miss the rest of the series due to an injury, Edmonton will need more of this type of performance from Skinner. He’s shown he can do it before, going 14-9 with a 2.45 GAA and .901 SV% in the 2024 Playoffs.

Kapanen Is Back With a Vengeance

Kasperi Kapanen made his Oilers postseason debut in Game 4. After being made a healthy scratch for Edmonton’s first nine games, the 28-year-old forward took the spot of underwhelming winger Viktor Arvidsson in the lineup on Monday. It proved to be a shrewd adjustment by Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, who is becoming known for such things.

Playing his first game in nearly four weeks, Kapanen made up for lost time. The 6-foot-1 Finn came out like he’d been shot from a cannon, throwing his body at the Golden Knights. In 14:21 of ice time, he totalled two shots and five hits.

Based on his individual effort and the team’s successful result, Kapanen will likely remain in the lineup in place of Arvidsson, who has one goal and three assists in nine games this postseason. With Arvidsson joining fellow veteran forward Jeff Skinner in the pressbox, Edmonton’s two biggest free-agent signings from last summer are now both healthy scratches during the playoffs.

Also making his playoff debut for the Oilers on Monday was defenceman Troy Stecher, who dressed in place of Ty Emberson. Stecher played a solid 16:46 and finished the game with a plus-1 rating.

Draisaitl Kept Off Scoresheet

Many were expecting a monster game on Monday from Leon Draisaitl, after the superstar centre had one of his worst playoff games in Game 3 when he deflected Vegas’ winning goal into his own net with less than a second remaining. Draisaitl has a well-earned reputation for his bounceback performances, and the stage seemed set for just that in Game 4.

But that’s not what happened on Monday, as the 29-year-old was held pointless, and managed just two shots in 20:06 of ice time. While he didn’t play as poorly as two nights earlier, the Hart Trophy finalist still didn’t seem like himself.

There has been speculation that Draisaitl is playing hurt, but that was shut down during the post-game show on Edmonton Sports Talk by host Tom Gazolla, who is as plugged in to the Oilers as any media member.

Draisaitl has now been held without a point in two of the last five games, while Oilers captain Connor McDavid has only scored once in the last seven games. A few years ago, this decreased offensive output from the Dynamic Duo would have been the kiss of death for the Oilers, but Edmonton is now a team being propelled by depth production: with Henrique scoring twice Monday, eight Oilers have already notched at least three goals this postseason.

There’s this unshakeable feeling that Draisaitl and McDavid are going to erupt any night now, maybe as soon as Wednesday (May 14) when the Oilers and Golden Knights face off in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena. During the Draisaitl/McDavid Era, Edmonton is 8-2 when it can close out a series, including 6-0 when not facing elimination.