Oilers will do whatever it takes after Hyman gets injured

Right after Kasperi Kapanen broke a stick on a blocked shot and Zach Hyman played a feed off Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers found a way to direct two rebounds towards Jake Oettinger within the opening minutes of game four.

And that pretty much sums up the theme of the game.

Messy. Aggressive. Nothing like the Carolina Hurricanes.

See you in Dallas.

Oh wait, there is one more thing.

Zach Hyman saw a total of 3:11 time on ice before a hit to the shoulder sent him down the tunnel for what the Oilers hope is only a one-game absence.

“(It’s) tough to lose anybody, but especially (Hyman),” according to Brett Kulak post-game. “He brings an element to the game and to our team that not many guys around the league can bring to their teams, so it’s tough to see him leave, and hopefully he’s all right.”

But.

“I thought we dealt with it good,” added Leon Draisaitl. “The guys that were a little further down the lineup got their minutes elevated a little bit, and they were great. Arvy, Cappy stick out there. I thought they were really good.

“That’s a big loss. You’re not just going to make that up. But collectively, I think we have what it takes to make up for it.”

Not only do the Oilers “have what it takes to make up for it,” but they will do whatever it takes.

Vasily Podkolzin will dish four times as many hits to shots on goal (eight to two), take a roughing penalty after a slight shove to Victor Arvidsson, and still block shots.

Kasperi Kapanen will make seven hits, three shots on goal, and score an empty-netter for the Oilers’ first insurance goal of the game.

And for the most underrated, overlooked, and briefest of moments, Evan Bouchard tapped — more like slashed — Roope Hintz on the laces because he’s suspected to have a broken foot.

For you Dallas fans, yah, it was a cheap shot.

For everybody else, this is playoff hockey, and if it works, it works.

Hintz will have no easy shifts for the remainder of round three simply because it would benefit the Oilers’ chances of moving forward if he sat for a few more games.

What’s more? The Oilers just know where to hit.

If a cheap shot is necessary to advance, then the Oilers are prepared to get as dirty as their likely Stanley Cup Finals opponent.

Spoiler: This is why teams say upper body, lower body, or nothing at all.

And if you’re in Dallas, take notes. Becuase unlike the Oilers, they have not done whatever it takes.

Their third and fourth lines have not delivered on the depth scoring that took the Oilers to the Western Conference Finals. Mikko Rantanen has chosen a rather unusual time to pass more than shoot. The rush plays expected by Dallas haven’t been able to escape anyone on the Oilers’ blueline.

Oettinger is apparently not better than Stuart Skinner. And as much as Peter DeBoer would like to deflect any such notion, the Stars’ five-on-five has not been able to match that of the Oilers.

See the pattern?

Several areas the Oilers were critized for lacking in at the end of the regular season — goaltending, depth scoring, defence, et cetera — are the very reasons they are now one win away from back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.

As they have and continue to prove, they’ll do whatever it takes. They’ll come back in a series, a game, or even a period, like they did in game four.

“In the first period, we were the second best team, we were a little bit slow,” critized Kris Knoblauch. “I don’t know how many chances we gave up in the second and the third, but I didn’t feel like it was very much. Besides the penalty kill, they had a lot on the power play in the second period, but five on five in the second and third, I thought we checked.

“And that mostly is just because we were skating much better (and) a lot of guys stepped up.”

Hits. Checks. Shots. A new line every shift. Ice time..

“Going into the third period, I had the luxury of pretty much double shifting Leon,” confessed Knoblauch. “Leon only played 11 and a half minutes after those two periods, and the conversation with him was, ‘get prepared to play a lot of minutes, and getting double shifted here’.”

Ahh, the burdens of being Leon Draisaitl. If he wasn’t so adept at managing the situation, you might feel bad for him.

It’s a good thing he doesn’t.

“The group is feeling good,” relayed Draisaitl. “And of course, just won a big game at home, and we’re going to Dallas to have the chance to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.

“If that doesn’t get you excited, I’m not sure what will.”