The Edmonton Oilers looked like they were going to cruise to victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Wednesday night until the Dallas Stars made them pay for taking needless penalties. The Stars overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring three times on the power play in a 5:26 span early in a five-goal third period to defeat the Oilers 6-3 at American Airlines Center.
Edmonton led 3-1 before Brett Kulak’s hooking penalty with 1:02 left in the second period led to Miro Heiskanen’s power-play goal 32 seconds into the third, cutting the deficit to one goal and waking up the sellout crowd of 18,532.
Edmonton forwards Corey Perry and Evander Kane then took careless high-sticking penalties less than three minutes apart, and the Stars again capitalized. Mikael Granlund’s perfect shot from the right circle tied the game 3-3 at 3:49, and Matt Duchene put the Stars ahead for the first time at 5:58.
It was a remarkable power-play turnaround for the Stars, who were 0-for-14 against Edmonton in the Oilers’ six-game victory in last year’s conference final.
“I didn’t feel through 40 minutes that we had made (the Oilers) earn the position they were in. so, guys responded. We got fortunate. We got some power-play goals,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Happy for our power play. It took a lot of heat last year at this point of the year. It was the difference tonight for us, so it’s great.”
Tyler Seguin’s second goal of the game with 3:58 remaining made it 5-3, and Esa Lindell scored a long-distance goal into an empty net 43 seconds later to cap the first five-goal third period in a playoff game in franchise history – and leave the Oilers stunned. The Stars also became the first team in NHL history to earn multiple wins in regulation after being down by multiple goals in third period during a single postseason.
“We all just communicated in the dressing room that if a team was going to beat us, they’d have to earn it,” Seguin told Sportsnet when asked about what was said between the second and third periods. “I didn’t think we played our best 40 (minutes). We wanted to respond and we’re a resilient group, and we did that.”
Jake Oettinger made 24 saves for the Stars, who rallied from a third-period deficit to win for the fourth time in this year’s playoffs – matching their total for all of the regular season. They’ve won seven in a row at home this spring after losing Game 1 in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche — the most since the franchise moved to Dallas in 1993.
The Stars host Game 2 on Friday night before the series moves to Edmonton for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
Stars shock Oilers with five-goal third period, win 6-3 in Game 1
The opening minutes were played at a much faster tempo than the Eastern Conference Final opener between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Hurricanes 24 hours earlier. Each team had a couple of good chances, with Oettinger making a terrific save on Connor McDavid after No. 97 blew past defenseman Thomas Harley.
The Stars got the first power play when Kulak was called for hooking at 9:27 but couldn’t even generate a shot attempt with the extra man. The Oilers rode the momentum from that kill into the game’s first goal.
Leon Draisaitl took a handoff from Darnell Nurse, beat Wyatt Johnston into the right circle and snapped a shot over Oettinger’s pad at 10:19 for a 1-0 lead. It was the 11th time in their 14 playoff games that the Stars have allowed the first goal.
The Oilers controlled play for the next few minutes but couldn’t beat Oettinger again, and a misplay by Draisaitl turned into the tying goal by Seguin, one of the two members of the Stars with a Stanley Cup ring. He took the puck away from Draisaitl at the Dallas blue line, raced in alone and scored on a breakaway at 15:22. It was his first goal in 11 games, tied the game 1-1 and ended Stuart Skinner’s shutout streak at 142:42.
But the Oilers took command — at least for a time — with two goals in the second period, when they again had the better of play.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton ahead at 6:08, beating Oettinger with a wide-open power-play wrister from the slot. He got a break when McDavid’s pass was deflected by Dallas defender Oskar Back.
Bouchard’s wrister from the left circle off a setup from Draisaitl at 7:48 made it 3-1, and only a handful of big saves by Oettinger kept the Stars within striking distance for the third-period comeback.
“After the first two periods, we felt it was a good start, and then it just turned in the third period,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’re going to have to put this one behind us and move on. We’ve had some heart-breaking losses in the playoffs and we’ve been able to rebound nicely. I’m not too worried about it.”
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3 takeaways from Stars’ Game 1 win over Oilers in West Final
1. Stars get much-needed production from depth players
Dallas won its first two series without much help from its bottom three lines. That changed in the opener against the Oilers when Seguin had two goals and Duchene scored his first of the playoffs.
Seguin matched his goal output in the Stars previous 13 games. Duchene’s goal was his first in 18 games since he scored against the Vancouver Canucks on April 8. The goals by Heiskanen and Lindell were their first of the postseason.
Dallas’ big guns, Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz, had assists on Duchene’s power-play goal. The assist kept Rantanen on top in the playoff scoring race with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists), one more than Draisaitl and McDavid.
But the line of Duchene between Jason Robertson and Johnston continued to struggle. They were on the ice for both of Edmonton’s even-strength goals and had trouble defending against McDavid and Draisaitl.
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2. Stars get boost from healthy Heiskanen
The Stars won their first-round series without Heiskanen, who was still recovering from knee surgery, and defeated the Winnipeg Jets in the second round with him playing limited minutes and dressing 11 forwards and seven defenseman after he returned in Game 3.
But the Stars went back to the regular 12 forward-six defensemen lineup Wednesday, and their best defenseman looked like his old self against the Oilers. Heiskanen played a team-high 24:12, scored the first of Dallas’ five goals in the third period and assisted on Granlund’s tying goal. He also had a hit, a blocked shot, and was on the ice for all five third-period goals.
Having a healthy Heiskanen playing 20-plus minutes at an elite level makes the Stars a different team.
3. Oilers collapse spoils Draisaitl’s big night
Draisaitl often seems like he’s Robin to McDavid’s Batman – but that wasn’t the case in Game 1. The regular-season leader with 52 goals factored on all three Edmonton tallies, and he was the best player on the ice before the third-period collapse.
His goal was an example of Draisaitl at his best; he used his strength to get open and his speed to blow past a defender before beating Oettinger with a perfect shot.
Draisaitl had the secondary assist on Nugent-Hopkins’ goal, then set up Bouchard’s rip for the 3-1 lead that the Oilers couldn’t hold in the third period.
Also, it wasn’t like McDavid had a bad night. He assisted on the goals by Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins, was flying all game long and could easily have scored a goal or two if not for Oettinger.