Oilers roar back, score 5 unanswered to even up Western Conference finals

The host Edmonton Oilers scored five unanswered goals to erase a two-goal deficit and claim a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and even their Western Conference final series at two wins apiece.

Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard, Mattias Janmark, Leon Draisaitl and Mattias Ekholm scored for the Oilers, who rallied after trailing 2-0 less than 5½ minutes into the clash. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 20 saves and Connor McDavid netted two assists.

Wyatt Johnston and Esa Lindell scored for the Stars, who failed to put the game away when they had early control. Goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 24 shots and Jamie Benn collected two assists.

The best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoffs series shifts to Dallas for Game 5 on Friday.

With his team down by a pair, McLeod cued the comeback by pouncing on a loose puck for his first goal of the playoffs at 13:30 of the first period.

Bouchard tied the game at the 16:17 mark by converting a rebound chance on the rush for his sixth of the postseason.

Building on that momentum, Janmark and Draisaitl scored 51 seconds apart to give the Oilers a 4-2 lead. While short-handed, Janmark buried a one-timer set up by Connor Brown for his second of the playoffs at 14:31 of the middle frame.

Draisaitl, who was held off the scoresheet the past two games after posting a 13-game point streak to start the playoffs, clicked on a give-and-go with Zach Hyman right after.

Edmonton did a masterful job clamping down in the third period, holding the Stars to eight shots on goal and snuffing a crucial power-play opportunity, before Ekholm’s empty-net goal with 1:53 remaining in regulation rounded out the scoring.

The Stars raced out of the blocks and took a 2-0 lead while firing the first four shots on goal. Johnston opened the scoring 58 seconds into the clash with his ninth goal of the playoffs.

Lindell doubled the lead at 5:29 when his point shot ricocheted off a defender and into the net for his third playoff tally.

Adding to their disappointment, Stars defenseman Chris Tanev left the game after blocking a shot with his foot late in the second period and did not return.