Trying as hard as he could, Tommy Salo couldn't steal a game where the Oilers' offense just couldn't mustard enough opportunities against Dallas. A 3-1 loss sees the series tie at 2 and made it a best of 3 against the southern rivals.

Lineup
Smyth	Marchant	Hemsky	Smith	Staios
York	Comrie	Dvorak	Cross	Brewer
Moreau	Reasoner	Pisani	Semenov	Ferguson
Isbister	Horcoff	Laraque	Salo
			Markkanen
Scratched: Chimera, Swanson, Cleary, Bergeron - Healthy...

Postgame

Tommy Salo was one of the rare Oilers that stood up to the pressures of Game 4 tonight. Besides getting help from a goalpost on a Brendan Morrow chance, Salo stood up strong through the first 40 minutes of play last night allowing only Sergei Zubov on the scoreboard just 78 seconds into the first period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead that would stand till the third period.

Would Edmonton be able to push themselves past a one goal deficit going into the third period once more? It just wasn't to be in the cards for the Oilers tonight. After seeing guys like Pisani being stopped in point blank range and Mike York fanning on a beautiful pass from Radek Dvorak through past the crease, the Oilers couldn't capitalize on their chances. Three power plays through two periods also weren't enough: the Oilers failed to generate any shots during six full minutes of power play time.

Shawn Horcoff stepped up to the plate with an unassisted goal just over two minutes into the third. With the Skyreach crowd finally back into the game, anything was possible as both teams saw the game within equal reach with a 1-1 draw. Horcoff managed to get the puck off of Turco and into the net. After Turco allowed three goals in Game 3 of the series, he wanted nothing more than to shut the door in Game 4.

And that he did.

Stu Barnes came out with the game winner just before the six minute mark of the third period. From behind the net, Barnes got a lucky bounce as he watched the puck ricochet off of Jason Smith's skate and into the net. This was after a very successful penalty kill by the Oilers. Unfortunately after the penalty for Edmonton ended, Georges Laraque failed to get the puck out of the zone and a fortunate bounce would see the game out of reach again for the Oilers.

A quick give-and-go passing play by Dallas just 23 seconds later resulted in Niko Kapanen awarded with his first NHL playoff goal.

Brendan Morrow took a goaltender interference penalty a couple minutes later, but the Oilers power play woes continue to be the storyline of the Oilers' powerless offense. They went 0 for 4 with the man advantage tonight with many troubles gaining the zone, forget even trying to get some pucks on Marty Turco.

The Oilers showed some emotion late in the game to try and goad Derian Hatcher into somemore penalty troubles. It was business as usual for Hatcher who returned from a one game suspension in Game 3. The defenseman logged 29:43 and lead all skaters with a +2. Only Sergei Zubov played more from either team tonight with an outstanding 31:36 of solid time.

Three Stars

Marty Turco - 23 saves tonight in a game where Edmonton were simply holding their sticks too tight.

Sergei Zubov - scored the game's first goal and lead all skaters with 31:36.

Tommy Salo - 25 saves tonight and was one of few Oilers that gave it his all tonight.

Oil Gauge

It was a rough night for the Oilers' checking line. Ethan Moreau, Marty Reasoner and Fernando Pisani all left the game with a -2. This line leaves very few games in the minus numbers through the month of March. Pisani had his chances to score tonight but failed to get the puck past Marty Turco. Mike York, Mike Comrie and Ales Hemsky have to be looked on to breakout and starting producing more points in this series if the Oilers are too succeed. The first two unfortunately play disabled with a broken wrist and a nagging thumb injury respectively. Ales Hemsky simply hasn't been able to get enough room to play his game against a tight Dallas team defense.

News & Notes

Radek Dvorak left the game with a possible wrist or hand injury. The Edmonton Oilers were tight-lipped about the extent of the injury and have simply stated that Dvorak will be evaluated Wednesday. If Radek Dvorak leaves the lineup for Game 5, expect 14-goal scoring rookie, Jason Chimera to draw into the lineup. Craig Mactavish kept the lines intact tonight whereas the third period of Game 3 saw some line juggling. Perhaps we will see a slightly modified system out for Game 5 if the Oilers are to succeed in Dallas on the road.

Next Game

Next up is Game 5 in Dallas with the series tied up at 2. If Edmonton is to win this series, they must win at least one game in Dallas. Seems that Thursday night at 5:30PM MT would be an excellent time to see that confidence building game happen. The series could end as early as Game 6 in Edmonton at 6:00PM MT with a couple wins in a row by either side.