Greg Wyshynski
Kristen Shilton
Kristen Shilton
ESPN NHL reporter
Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers was actually like two games in one.
The first 40 minutes belonged to the Oilers, who looked absolutely unstoppable. They built a 3-1 lead against an overwhelmed Stars team, whose only goal was on a Tyler Seguin breakaway.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, a playoffs-long trend continued for their penalty kill. It was torched for seven goals in the opening three games against the Los Angeles Kings. It gave up three goals in the first two games against Vegas. In Game 1 of the conference final, it was like a defibrillator for the Stars, who barely had a pulse after going down 3-1 after two periods. Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene all scored power-play goals in the first 5:58 of the third period to rally Dallas to the lead. The Stars never looked back, taking Game 1 by a 6-3 score.
How did both teams perform? What are the big questions facing each team ahead of Game 2 on Friday night?
The Oilers had it all in hand — just to let a win slip through their fingers.
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Edmonton had been idle for a week after finishing off Vegas in five games in its second-round series. And at first, the Oilers looked well rested in a fairly clean road game considering the lengthy layoff. Edmonton had a snafu in the first period letting Tyler Seguin free on a breakaway that he converted into a tying goal but other than that, Edmonton put on a defensive clinic to keep the Stars at bay through 40 minutes. The Oilers power play did — as Connor McDavid predicted — arrive at last, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring Edmonton’s first road goal with the man advantage in the postseason to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead, which they extended to 3-1 going into the third. That’s when the wheels fell off.
Edmonton gave up three power-play goals in less than six minutes to sit in a one-goal deficit they never came back from. The Oilers could have recovered on special teams themselves but didn’t convert with their own third-period tries and finished 1-for-3 with the extra attacker. Edmonton’s bench was rightly deflated even before Seguin scored a dagger late in the final period to ice the Stars’ victory. It was a tale of two teams for the Oilers — and the worst of the two prevailed. — Shilton
0:53
Stars score 3rd straight goal to take lead over Oilers
Matt Duchene notches the Stars’ third power-play of the third period to give them a lead.
The Stars’ power play gets an A-plus. It was Honor Society-worthy. It was the valedictorian of Game 1. Dallas was absolutely cooked against McDavid and Leon Draisaitl until their three power-play goals to open the third period. The Stars became the second team since 1934 — when goals by type were first tabulated by the NHL — with three goals on the man advantage in the opening six minutes of a playoff period. They became the first team with three power-play goals in the third period of a playoff game since the San Jose Sharks scored four in Game 7 against the Golden Knights in 2019 — back when Peter DeBoer was the Sharks’ head coach, incidentally.
The rest of the Stars’ game gets a C-plus. The first two periods were not what you want to see against Edmonton, with defensive lapses and high-danger chances handed to the Oilers. Edmonton looked like a team that had won eight of its past nine playoff games. The Stars made Stuart Skinner much too comfortable. The third period belongs in the Louvre, not only for the power-play goals but for a key penalty kill against the Oilers, Sam Steel’s dagger and another strong final stanza by goalie Jake Oettinger, who saved all six shots.
It’s a great win, especially when one considers teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series have advanced 68% of time. But not every game is going to have the undisciplined play the Oilers displayed in the third or the power-play success of the Stars. Dallas needs to be better, but the good news is that the Stars got the win in a game in which they weren’t quite at their best. — Wyshynski
Three Stars of Game 1
Two goals and an assist, including the opening goal for Dallas, his first breakaway goal since November, the team’s fourth this postseason, most of any team so far.
One goal and an assist. His 13th career multipoint game in the playoffs, tied with Sergei Zubov for the most by a defensemen in Stars/North Stars history.
3. Power-play goals
The Oilers converted 1-of-3 and the Stars 3-of-4. Dallas had three power-play goals in a row in the third period, their most in the third period of a playoff game in Stars/North Stars history. — Arda Öcal
Players to watch in Game 2
The Oilers’ netminder has endured a rocky postseason, going from the team’s starter to its backup and then reclaiming the No. 1 role. Skinner appeared dialed in early against the Stars and then was — like the rest of his team — shaky down the stretch. Dallas’ fourth goal was particularly poorly tracked by Skinner, who was slow to react as Duchene tallied the eventual game-winner. Skinner continued to look rattled from there and displayed less of the confidence he’d shown earlier.
Calvin Pickard — who took over as the starter in the first round — didn’t travel with the Oilers while continuing to rehab an injury he sustained in Game 2 against Vegas. It’ll be on Skinner to rebound to get Edmonton back on track in Game 2. — Shilton
A lot of quiet sticks got loud in Game 1 when Dallas needed it: Seguin, Duchene and Steel all tallied goals in the Stars’ stunning win. But one player remains curiously quiet, considering his reputation as a playoff standout, is Johnston, the team’s outstanding 22-year-old center. His Game 3 goal in a 5-2 rout of Winnipeg was his only point of that series, and he didn’t register one in Dallas’ rally against Edmonton. The problem for Dallas is that he hasn’t added much at the other end, struggling defensively. He got walked by Draisaitl for the first Edmonton goal. Depth is already vital in this series. The Stars could use Johnston to deepen it further. — Wyshynski
Big questions for Game 2
Can the Oilers clean up their act?
Edmonton was in control of Game 1 until penalty troubles eroded the positive efforts. Will that total lack of discipline become a factor again in Game 2? The Stars were a commanding 3-for-4 in converting with the extra attacker Wednesday and that’s no surprise given their regular-season and playoff success on the power play. Dallas went into this series with the third-best power play of the postseason — and tops among remaining teams — at 30.8% while Edmonton had the third-worst penalty kill (66.7%). That’s a tough battle for the Oilers to win when they’re giving up multiple man-advantage tries. Dallas proved (repeatedly) it will make Edmonton pay for every mistake, and Edmonton made too many in Game 1. — Shilton
Is it time to worry about the Finnish Mafia?
The Stars wouldn’t be in the Western Conference finals without Mikko Rantanen. And he wouldn’t have entered this round leading the playoffs in scoring without the chemistry he developed with fellow Finns Granlund and Roope Hintz. But this line hasn’t produced an even-strength goal since Game 5 against the Winnipeg Jets. Granted, the three were cooking on the power play in the third period, with Granlund scoring and Hintz and Rantanen assisting on Duchene’s goal. You take that every day. But Dallas was at its most dominant when this line was leading the charge. The Stars are facing a pair of generational talents. They have a superstar of their own in Rantanen. He needs to bring that level of excellence at 5-on-5. — Wyshynski
