Stars remain confident, ready to bounce back from 5-goal loss in Game 3

EDMONTON -- Listen to this quote from the Dallas Stars locker room after Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Sunday:

“I think that’s some of the best hockey we’ve played,” forward Sam Steel said. “I felt like we tilted the ice there. … For the most part, I think we roll into the next game doing a lot of those same things.”

The Stars didn’t win 6-1. They lost 6-1 to the Edmonton Oilers, which means they have been outscored 9-1 the past two games and have lost two straight for the first time during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But they weren’t spinning the narrative. They had reason to be positive and have no reason to panic trailing 2-1 in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 here Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN, ESPN+).

“We’ve got to just win the next one,” forward Mikko Rantanen said. “That’s the mentality now. Get some rest. Reset. We should have a little bit longer rest since it was an afternoon game. We think about the one game, and we need to win that one.”

It just wasn’t Dallas’ day Sunday, starting in warmup.

Coach Pete DeBoer said center Roope Hintz would be a game-time decision after he had to be helped off the ice during Game 2 following a slash by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. Hintz tried to warm up, but he left the ice early and didn't play because of a lower-body injury.

That had to be deflating. Hintz has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 15 games in the playoffs, second on Dallas behind Rantanen, his linemate, who has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 16 games.

“You’re without your No. 1 center,” DeBoer said. “I give our guys credit. They didn’t mail it in. They showed up and worked.”

The Stars had a 22-17 edge in shot attempts in the first period, but they fell behind 2-0. While forward Colin Blackwell was robbed by goalie Stuart Skinner and forward Mikael Granlund hit a goal post, Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard scored on a blast from the point and Oilers center Connor McDavid finished a 3-on-1.

Dallas dominated the second period -- 21-7 in shots and 36-18 in shot attempts. By one count, the Stars had a 19-5 advantage in scoring chances, including a 10-1 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. But Edmonton ended up with a 3-1 lead. Rantanen hit a post. Skinner made multiple big saves. After Stars forward Jason Robertson scored at 15:35, McDavid responded with 18.8 seconds left.

The Oilers blew open the game from there, tacking on three goals in the third period.

“Obviously, the third goal was a kind of a backbreaker,” DeBoer said. “I loved our game to that point.”

Offense remains an issue for Dallas, obviously, especially with Hintz’s status uncertain.

The Stars still haven’t scored first in a road game during the playoffs.

Rantanen has gone six playoff games without a goal, his longest drought since 2022, and the Stars haven’t gotten enough secondary scoring.

Forwards Jamie Benn (no goals in his past 13 games), Evgenii Dadonov (none in his past 14), Matt Duchene (none in his past two) and Mason Marchment (none in his past 11) remain stuck on one goal each in the playoffs.

“It’s frustrating, and it’s sometimes hard to not let the frustration come, but we’ve got to do our best to not let it come to our minds,” Rantanen said. “We’ve just got to stick with it and try to limit their chances as well.”

At least Robertson scored his first goal in nine games since returning from a lower-body injury, even though he didn’t realize he’d gotten credit for a goal because he was hit by a shot by defenseman Lian Bichsel. He had five shots and 11 shot attempts.

“There’s no doubt he’s been a step behind since he came back in,” DeBoer said. “I thought tonight there was signs of him getting back up to speed and doing some of those things, so that’s a good sign. We need him.”

Bottom line: Keep calm and carry on.

“We’re without our No. 1 center,” DeBoer said. “We’re on the road here in a tough environment. I thought we played a really good hockey game for a big stretch of that game, so there’s nothing to get emotional or upset about.

“I think you have to be realistic with your group. I liked our compete tonight. I liked a lot of parts of our game, and we’ve got to build on that and hopefully get Roope Hintz back and get back in the series.”