GAME RECAP: Stars 4, Oilers 1

DALLAS, TX - A pair of power-play goals and another just after a penalty expired gave the Stars a 3-0 lead that they wouldn't relinquish on Tuesday as they ultimately defeated the Oilers 4-1.
Edmonton took five minor penalties in the opening two periods and the home team made them pay, halting the Orange & Blue's win streak at two games and dropping their record to 13-5-0.

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FIRST BLOOD

The Stars generated the first power play of the night and turned it into the first goal of the night soon thereafter at the 10:59 mark of the opening frame. With Duncan Keith in the box for tripping, both Alexander Radulov and Roope Hintz redirected a John Klingberg point shot past Stuart Skinner with Hintz getting credit for his sixth goal of the season to give the home side a 1-0 advantage.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The Oilers were finally able to get on the board at 10:35 of the middle frame on a superb passing play from Leon Draisaitl to Ryan McLeod, cutting the Stars lead to 3-1 at the time. Jesse Puljujarvi picked up the puck in the defensive zone and made a chip up the boards to Draisaitl, who burst in on a two-on-one rush with McLeod and found his fellow forward with a forehand pass. McLeod made no mistake past an outstretched Jake Oettinger for his third goal of the season, all coming in the last five games.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Skinner had Michael Raffl's number on Tuesday, first denying the Stars winger with his blocker on a breakaway in the final minute of the first period and then stretching across his crease to rob him on a two-on-one rush in the middle frame. The latter denial was the best stop of the contest as Miro Heiskanen slid a pass under the stick of Evan Bouchard only to have Raffl's one-timer find the blocker of Skinner, who did the splits to cover the width of the blue paint and keep the score 2-0 Dallas at the time.

TURNING POINT

After scoring their first two goals on the man advantage, the Stars secured their third of the night just four seconds after a Philip Broberg high-sticking minor had expired at 9:27 of the middle frame, as Denis Gurianov took a feed from Klingberg at his own blue line, picked up speed through the neutral zone, curled outside around the Edmonton defenders and beat Skinner through the legs with a backhand deke for his third goal of the season. The tally put the game out of reach for an Oilers squad that sputtered with their usually-elite offensive attack.

TOP PERFORMER

Klingberg assisted on each of the first three Stars goals, doubling his point total from the entire season to date in just under half a game to lead Dallas to the victory. The veteran blueliner logged a game-high 26:03 as he returned to the offensive form that has allowed the 131st-overall pick from the 2010 NHL Draft to record 333 points in 491 career NHL games.

PARTING WORDS

Cody Ceci on the team giving up the first goal for the eighth time in their last nine outings, which includes six road matchups:
"I thought we came out pretty good five-on-five, but then we took a couple penalties and they scored on them and we got behind and before we knew it we were chasing the game again. We've played pretty good at home. We've got to find a way to play a little better on the road."
Head Coach Dave Tippett on the Oilers getting called for five of the game's first six penalties:
"We didn't kill them tonight. There's some games where it goes like that and you're able to kill those penalties, but when you give up two power-play goals -- actually three with the one right at the end of (their third power play) -- you're chasing the game. Against a heavy team like that, they're going to play in front of the puck all night. When you get behind, it's hard to jump back in."
Ceci on the Oilers losing another left-shot defenceman when Keith left the game with an upper-body injury after playing just 10:37:
"It's definitely a challenge, but it also gives opportunities to some of the younger guys. Broberg has come up and played really well for us so far. He's a great skater, thinks the game well and gets his shots through. It's exciting for him, but it is tough for us to have guys go missing."