EDMONTON, AB — Stars defenseman Chris Tanev left Dallas' Game 4 loss against the Edmonton Oilers with a lower-body injury Wednesday night.
Tanev's exit came in the second period when he blocked a shot from the Oilers' Evander Kane. Tanev blocked the shot with his right foot and was forced out of the game.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer didn't have an extensive update on Tanev after the game.
"Blocked a shot. Couldn't finish," DeBoer said. "Fingers crossed, hopefully he'll be good for the next game."
The Oilers ultimately won 5-2 to even the Western Conference Final at 2-2, as the series now shifts back to Dallas for Game 5 at the American Airlines Center on Friday night. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.
DeBoer and the Stars will have their scheduled media availability Thursday, so that's when we could get an update on Tanev's status for Game 5.
Former Dallas forward Corey Perry, who reached the Stanley Cup Final as a member of the Stars in 2020, set the tone for the Oilers' comeback Wednesday night. After having sat out most of the series so far as a healthy scratch, he contributed an assist to a Ryan McLeod goal that put Edmonton on the scoreboard, and into a position to head to the game's first intermission tied 2-2.
Former Stars forward Mattias Janmark, another member of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final-reaching Dallas team, then scored Edmonton's go-ahead goal in the second period -- and a demoralizing short-hander at that.
Mere seconds later, a Leon Draisaitl goal assisted by fellow Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman all but shut the door on this one.
Edmonton spent much of the the third period all-out defending its zone and shutting down the Dallas offense entirely, leading to a third period largely devoid of action -- except for a final, empty-netter goal that came during desperation time for the Stars and moved the final score to 5-2.
