DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars will try to accomplish something they never have done when they host the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Friday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
A victory Friday would give the Stars a 2-0 lead in a conference final/NHL semifinal for the first time in Dallas/Minnesota North Stars history.
The Stars trailed the Oilers 3-1 entering the third period before they scored five unanswered goals, including three on the power play, in an eventual 6-3 victory in Game 1 on Wednesday. Following their Game 7 comeback against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, they became the first team in Stanley Cup Playoff history with multiple wins in regulation after being down by two or more goals in the third period of a playoff game in a single year.
“I think that comes from the last couple runs we've been on,” Dallas forward Mason Marchment said of the Stars, who are in the conference final for the third consecutive season. “I think we're a veteran team with a lot of experience, and I think that's where a lot of it comes from. In the room we're talking and keeping it positive, and even though we didn't maybe bring our best game for the first two periods, we know that if we play our game, you never know. There's just a lot of belief in our room.”
Edmonton wasn't happy with the result of Game 1, but has no plans to deviate from what has worked throughout the postseason.
“I think there's a lot of positives," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "So I don't think they were going to change our game plan. I don't think we need to alter things a lot.
"There are things that we can get better at. One is, we know Dallas is a very good team. ... They scored a lot goals off the rush, so we need to make sure that we're not putting them in a position to have success there.”
Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 conference final/NHL semifinal series have an all-time series record of 114-53 (.683). A team tied at least one conference final/NHL semifinal series 1-1 after losing Game 1 in three of the past five seasons (Stars and New York Rangers last year, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021, Vegas Golden Knights in 2020).
Here is a breakdown of Game 2:
Oilers: Edmonton wants to improve its penalty kill, which is 23-for-37 (62.2 percent), lowest among the four remaining playoff teams. It allowed three third-period goals to Dallas in Game 1 and has been an issue, but Knoblauch said the coaching staff and players will figure it out: “[Assistant coach] Mark Stuart does a great job adjusting to what we need to do, and I also think our players are very receptive on correcting mistakes, any adjustments that we have to make. I think they're great at doing that. So if it was a theme that continues on, then I would say we've got a problem that we have to change our personnel, we have to [change] our system. Right now, it's just a little bit of a little of everything.”
Stars: Dallas’ power play came into the conference final strong (12-for-39, 30.8 percent, first among remaining teams) and kept that going in Game 1 with a 3-for-4 performance on the way to its comeback win. Its power play already is much more successful than it was in the conference final last year, when it was 0-for-14 against the Oilers; it's a trend that needs to continue if the Stars are to advance. Dallas has faith in its two power-play units, evident when they sent out the second unit [defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forwards Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, Jason Robertson and Tyler Seguin] to start the third period in Game 1.
Number to know: 58. That’s the career playoff points for Edmonton captain Connor McDavid (17 goals, 41 assists in 57 games) in games where the Oilers faced a series deficit entering play, tied with Stan Mikita (23 goals, 35 assists) for sixth most in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky holds the all-time record with 80 points (23 goals, 57 assists) in 49 such games.
What to look for: Can the Stars win and reach rarefied air in their history? Or will the Oilers get their 60-minute game back and send this series back to Edmonton tied 1-1?
