After facing heat, Darnell Nurse, Corey Perry and Ryan McLeod's redemption moment could not have come at a better time for the Edmonton Oilers. Darnell Nurse and Jake Oettinger [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2ODAxMzg2MDA2OTE0MDk5/usatsi_23418165_168400847_lowres.jpg] Darnell Nurse and Jake Oettinger There may not have been a better night for the Oilers to prove Darnell Nurse's pre-game comments right. "We're good with our back against the wall," Nurse told reporters before Game 4 of the Western Conference final. After falling into a 2-0 hole to the Dallas Stars in the first period, the Oilers scored five unanswered goals to even the series at 2-2. But the comeback that may have saved the Oilers' Stanley Cup hopes began with the efforts of three players struggling in the playoffs: Darnell Nurse, Corey Perry and Ryan McLeod. Nurse and Perry assisted on McLeod's goal 13 minutes into the first period. While it was Nurse's first point of the series, it was the first point of the playoffs for Perry and McLeod. Nurse's 2024 playoffs haven't been easy. He's had a team-worst minus-12 rating and hasn't had a point since Game 3 of their series against Vancouver. The start in Game 4 wasn't what anyone would have wanted, either. He was on ice for the first two Dallas goals, the second coming off a strange bounce off of his backside. But Nurse rebounded from that and had a stellar game the rest of the way. The veteran blueliner not only asserted himself physically with 12 hits, but he also blocked three shots. His offensive ability from the back end helped create the chance that led to McLeod's goal. "Personally, I thought it was his best game of the series, maybe of the playoffs," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters post-game. "I thought he was engaged, but I thought he was moving his feet. "He's one of the best in the league on covering space, with his speed, his reach and then finishing plays because of his strength. Those three attributes are what really sets him apart from other defensemen, and tonight, I thought he was really good at that." The advanced stats add to the well-deserved praise. When playing in a pairing with Brett Kulak, the tandem recorded an expected goals percentage of 78.71 percent and an expected goals-against mark of under 0.20 at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com [https://www.naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=3&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=n&team=EDM&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2024-04-20&td=2024-05-30&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8477498&p2=8476967&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0]. McLeod and Perry, meanwhile, have been notable healthy scratches during the post-season after not providing any secondary scoring in the playoffs until Wednesday. To McLeod's credit, he remained one of Edmonton's better defensive forwards. On a line with Leon Draisaitl and Perry, at 5-on-5, they were arguably Edmonton's second-best line Wednesday night with a Corsi-for percentage of 70.59. "When you do get pulled out of the lineup, it's a tough pill to swallow, but you put that aside," Perry said. "When you do get your name called again, you come in, and you work hard. You can talk for myself and 'Clouder' (Ryan McLeod), it was about being hard on the puck, winning our battles, and that's all we were trying to do." The series shifts back to Dallas on Friday. While the Stars look to sort out what went wrong, they also have to contend with an Oilers team that started to see some struggling players rebound. Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [https://info.thehockeynews.com/mail/microsites/951/1/gTeQVf?_gl=1*ustlbj*_ga*NjkyMzUxMy4xNjYzNjIwMzQ3*_ga_PK63FB1PME*MTcxMzUwOTExNi40NDguMS4xNzEzNTA5MjA5LjU5LjAuMA..].
