Stars lament missed chances in Game 1 2OT loss to Oilers in West Final

DALLAS -- The emotion was simple after the Dallas Stars’ 3-2 double-overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

“Disappointment,” forward Tyler Seguin said.

The Stars played well enough to win in a game of bounces and breaks. They were one shot away. But they went 0-for-5 on the power play, including 0-for-2 on a double minor in the first overtime, when forward Jason Robertson hit the right goal post and later the left.

“Obviously, you’ve got to score on that double minor,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “That’s probably the game right there.”

And so, here they go again. This is the seventh straight time they have lost a Game 1.

The bad news is that once again Dallas is playing from behind. Often it catches up with you. Teams that have lost Game 1 are 247-522 in best-of-7 series in NHL history (.321).

That puts more importance on Game 2 here Saturday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

The Stars lost the first two games to the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime in the conference final last season and ended up losing in six games. Before playing the Golden Knights in Game 1 of the first round this season, DeBoer looked back.

“We know the importance of the early parts of the series, particularly last year,” DeBoer said then. “Losing the first two games in overtime and getting in that hole was essentially the series. We tried to climb back in. But you get in a hole, I think, against a really good team at this time of year early in the series, it’s really hard to climb out.”

The good news is that the Stars have climbed out before, hard as it might be. Four times in the past two seasons, they have rebounded from a Game 1 loss to win a series.

They lost the first two games to Vegas in the first round this season, and they rallied to win in seven games. They lost Game 1 in overtime against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, and they won in six.

“Just a Game 1, right?” forward Evgenii Dadonov said. “Tomorrow we have to forget about it and just move on.”

This was DeBoer’s message this time:

“In a perfect world, we’d like to win Game 1,” DeBoer said. “We’d like to win every series four straight too. It just doesn’t happen. I think the main thing is, you’ve got to find a way to survive and move on.

“So, you know, we’ve got to park this game. We’ve been in this situation before. We’re the best road team in the League. I’m not as concerned about that. I think we need to find another level in our own game, and the wins will take care of themselves.”

It’s true that Edmonton’s top players made an impact. Connor McDavid scored the winner 32 seconds into the second overtime, after Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman scored in regulation. But it’s not like they dominated.

The bounces and breaks went back and forth. Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the second period after a shot bounced off Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell right to him. Seguin tied it 2-2 with 3:23 remaining in regulation after a shot bounced off Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse right to him.

Robertson came within inches of winning it in the first overtime when he hit those two posts. So did McDavid, when he had an eternity to deposit the puck in an open net.

Defenseman Chris Tanev and goalie Jake Oettinger each stretched out his stick to keep the puck out of the net.

The Oilers (31-12-5) and the Stars (30-12-5) were the top two teams in the Western Conference after Jan. 1. The margins are going to be thin.

“This time of the year, you kind of expect that,” Seguin said. “Two teams here in the West are here for a reason, so it’s going to be little inches out there, little bounces, so it’s going to be a fun opportunity, and we’ve got to win the next one at home.”

Asked if his top players had performed like his top players, DeBoer was upbeat, not upset.

“We were OK,” DeBoer said. “I didn’t think we were great. I didn’t think we were poor. We’re Game 1 in this series. I’m not going to start calling guys out.”

He laughed.

“It’s way too early for that,” he said. “We’re in a good spot here. We’ve got to regroup. We’ll look at the film and find a way to score a couple more goals.”