DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars will try to even their Western Conference Final series with the Edmonton Oilers when they square off in Game 2 at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
Center Tyler Seguin scored twice for the Stars in Game 1, his second goal forcing overtime. But Oilers captain Connor McDavid was there 32 seconds into double overtime to win it 3-2. Dallas has lost the opening game in seven straight best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series, so the Stars know they need a big response.
“I think it’s the mindset," Dallas forward Jason Robertson said. "I mean, it’s unfortunate that I’ve lost every Game 1 of my career. It’s not like it’s going to be any easier tonight.
“We saw it against Vegas (in the first round), we lost Game 2 (3-1). We were able to respond against Colorado (a 5-3 win in Game 2 in the second round) and we’re going to have to be able to do it tonight. I’m sure everyone will be ready, make adjustments accordingly and be ready to go.”
Stars center Roope Hintz (upper body) is a game-time decision. He skated in their optional practice on Friday and Saturday prior to Game 2; he has been out since Game 4 of the second round.
The Oilers are feeling good after winning Thursday. With the chance to go up 2-0 in the series heading back to Edmonton, they’d like to bring the right amount of urgency.
“We don’t really know exactly what’s going to happen tonight," Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner said, "but for us it’s going into the mindset of, we have a chance to go 2-0 up and they obviously don’t want that to happen.
“That’s what makes the playoffs so much fun is that you’re in spots like this, whether they’re up one, we’re up one, they’re up two, we’re up two. You don’t win until you win four games, so that’s what makes this all so exciting and so enjoyable to play.”
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series go on to win the series 86.3 percent of the time (352-56).
Here are 3 keys for Game 2:
1. Starting stronger
The Oilers got the lead on the Stars in Game 1, thanks to center Leon Draisaitl’s even-strength goal 58 seconds into the second period. They do want to be better in the first period; they were limited to three shots on goal in the opening period.
“Just shoot the puck more, have the puck more, create better looks,” Draisaitl said. “I think we have another step to go when it comes to creating offensive zone time and creating looks for ourselves.
“That certainly wasn’t our best in Game 1 but again, they’re a good team, they’re experienced, they know how to limit those looks. Now it’s up to us to create more.”
2. Rediscovering the power play
The Stars power play was 9-for-31 (29.0 percent, fourth in the NHL among playoff teams) entering Game 1. They went 0-for-5 Thursday, creating very little on their first few power plays before nearly breaking through in the first overtime.
They’ll have to fix that against a formidable Oilers penalty kill, and quickly.
“I think we can adjust. I expect us to adjust,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “Our execution, when our mindset and the rest of our game gets in the right place, that will fix our power play.”
3. Doing the dirty work
The Oilers are never going to have a problem scoring, but it’s the grunt work, the blocked shots, the strong defensive game, that has helped them throughout the postseason and has them ahead in this series. It’s something they’ll need in Game 2 and beyond if they want to advance.
“There’s no team that’s had success in the playoffs that hasn’t been able to commit to playing good, defensive hockey,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We talked about it all season: If we want to be successful, we have to be a good defensive team and I think we have been. There are breakdowns, things we can always get better at, but overall, our team’s bought in to playing a good, defensive game.”
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Dylan Holloway -- Leon Draisaitl -- Evander Kane
Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Derek Ryan
Mattias Janmark -- Sam Carrick -- Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Vincent Desharnais
Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Corey Perry, Sam Gagner, Troy Stecher
Injured: Adam Henrique (lower body)
Stars projected lineup
Jason Robertson -- Wyatt Johnston -- Logan Stankoven
Jamie Benn -- Joe Pavelski — Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment -- Tyler Seguin -- Matt Duchene
Craig Smith -- Radek Faksa -- Sam Steel
Thomas Harley -- Miro Heiskanen
Esa Lindell -- Chris Tanev
Ryan Suter -- Nils Lundkvist
Jake Oettinger
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: Ty Dellandrea
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Roope Hintz (upper body)
Status report
Henrique is a game-time decision, Knoblauch said; the forward has has not played since Game 2 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Vancouver Canucks.
NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report
