GAME STORY: Oilers 1, Stars 0 (OT)

EDMONTON, AB - For years, Ken Hitchcock's name was synonymous with the Dallas Stars.
The Edmonton, AB, product started his coaching career in the Edmonton area learning under legend Clare Drake but never showed a soft spot for his hometown club when he became head coach of the Stars from 1996 to 2002, haunting the Oilers year after year with a 21-2-2-1 regular season record over seven campaigns.

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Edmonton hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. The game can be seen on Sportsnet West and heard on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. MST.
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Hitchcock continued Dallas' domination of the Orange & Blue in the postseason, sending the Oilers packing from the playoffs four times and accruing a 19-8 playoff record during that time.
On Tuesday, the script was flipped and Hitchcock made his Rogers Place debut as head coach of the Oilers, playing none other than his former Stars.
The bench boss registered his first win in Oil Country, as Oscar Klefbom scored the overtime winner at 2:42 to improve Edmonton's record to 11-11-2.
"I would say the thing I'm proudest of is to win, you got to get on the grind in this (Western) Conference," Hitchcock, commenting on his busy first week with the Oilers franchise, said.
"I like the fact that we're on the grind right now and if we keep having that attitude, we're going to get points in a lot of nights."
Klefbom deposited Leon Draisaitl's 2-on-1 feed to notch his first of the campaign and 11th point in the OT stanza. Draisaitl's helper also pushed him 27 points on the season.
"I've seen him make those passes to Connor a number of times, so I just tried to be there for him," Klefbom said of Draisaitl's dish in the extra session. "We almost have a mental advantage going into 3-on-3."
Mikko Koskinen registered his second shutout of the season, stopping all 28 shots he faced on the night, coming up big on several occasions to preserve the Oilers chances at bagging a point. The keeper's biggest stop came in the waning ticks of the match when Jamie Benn fired one point-blank from the slot.
"I saw there might be an option for a one-tee from Seguin there but he (Benn) decided to shoot it," said the Finnish netminder, who is now 6-2-1 in 2018-19.
"I just tried to squeeze it."
Edmonton came out looking to exploit the Stars' injured lineup and routine slow starts, peppering second-string goalkeeper Anton Khudobin with the first four shots of the game.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got close to scoring on two separate occasions in the first, jamming Khudobin's pad in the crease early in the game, then missing a yawning cage later in the frame. Nugent-Hopkins' first attempt warranted a call to the situation room but the play was ultimately deemed dead.

The pace increased in the second period - when Dallas scores the bulk of their goals - but remained deadlocked due to the goaltending from both sides.
Koskinen followed up a perfect first period with a flawless second, making key saves on Miro Heiskanen's deflected point shot and Mattias Janmark's ensuing rebound, as well as Benn's rip off the rush.
Khudobin, who stopped Alex Chiasson on the doorstep in the first, continued to hold it down for the visitors, thwarting all 13 of Edmonton's second-period shots. He ended the night with 30 saves and had a major hand in keeping it a tight affair.
"That's how we're going to have to win and we know that," said Nugent-Hopkins of the stalemate. "I think just the way we've been playing is very responsible. Forwards are coming back hard, the D are hard to play against right now and it's making it tough for other teams to score against us."
Nugent-Hopkins ringed the iron on the power play at the top of the third and Koskinen made a cross-ice save on a Benn one-timer later in the period, getting some help from an Adam Larsson clear when the puck remained loose in the crease.

Koskinen secured a point for the Oilers in the dying seconds of regulation, staying square to Benn in the slot to cause the fourth period of play.
"I think that goaltending is our strength. Both guys," said Hitchcock of Koskinen and Cam Talbot. "We're more than comfortable with both."
In overtime, Oilers Captain Connor McDavid appeared to have ended the match when he slipped a backhander 5-hole on Khudobin. Alexander Radulov accidentally poked the puck towards the goal-line but Gavin Bayreuther's clear seemingly averted any danger. The situation room was called for the second time of the night, this time announcing the puck had not fully crossed the line.
When play resumed, Draisaitl wheeled up ice to force a 2-on-1 with Klefbom, delivering the puck to the defender for the winner.
The Oilers will look to make it two in a row on Thursday when the Los Angeles Kings visit Rogers Place.