Khudobin shines, but Stars can't stave off Oilers in OT

The Dallas Stars played a solid defensive game Tuesday night in Edmonton, and they got a superb performance from goaltender Anton Khudobin. But they couldn't get a puck past Edmonton goaltender Mikko Koskinen and fell, 1-0, in overtime to the Oilers at Rogers Place.
The only goal of the game came from Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom, who took a pass from Leon Draisaitl and scored from close range on the rush 2:42 into the extra period to hand the Stars their fourth straight loss on the road (0-3-1).
"I thought it was a really good defensive checking game by both teams," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery. "Both teams showed a lot of creativity in the offensive zone, both goalies had to be good at times, and in the end, they made one more play than we did."

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In regulation, there were good chances on both sides, but Khudobin, who made 30 saves, and Koskinen, who stopped 28 shots, were both sharp in keeping it a scoreless game. Koskinen came up with a huge save on Stars captain Jamie Benn just as the third period was ending to get the Oilers into the extra period.
Stars defenseman Gavin Bayreuther came up with the save of the overtime, sweeping the puck away just before it completely crossed the goal line after Oilers captain Connor McDavid got the puck past Khudobin on a breakaway.
"Our focal point was keeping an eye on Connor McDavid, and he got a breakaway. You've got to retreat back to the house no matter what.," Bayreuther said. "I knew it didn't go in, but it was close. Unfortunately they scored shortly after."

The Stars fell to 12-10-3 on the season and 4-7-2 on the road.
The Oilers (11-11-2) improved to 2-1-1 under new coach Ken Hitchcock who was coaching his first game in Edmonton since taking over for Todd McClellan.
"Mikko played a hell of a game tonight," said Klefbom. "Dallas is not an easy team to play against. It was great to get the two points tonight."
The Oilers had the better of play in the first period, outshooting the Stars 13-7, but Khudobin was sharp in making nice stops on all three members of Edmonton's top line -- McDavid, Alex Chiasson, and Draisaitl.
The Stars got some good chances in a scoreless second period including a couple from both Mattias Janmark and Benn, and a quality look by Miro Heiskanen off the rush was denied by Koskinen.
The Stars had some more good chances in the third including a great chance by Benn from the slot just before the end of regulation, but Koskinen made the stop to get the game to overtime.

Turning point

The game came down to one play in overtime.
The Oilers regrouped in the neutral zone, Leon Draisaitl drove into the Stars zone drawing two defenders and set up a wide-open Oscar Klefbom, who beat Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin from the bottom of the left faceoff circle.
The Oilers improved to 5-2 in overtime games this season.

Three stars of the game

Mikko Koskinen, Edmonton: Oilers goaltender delivered some big saves in recording his second shutout of the season.
Anton Khudobin, Dallas:Stars goaltender made 30 saves and gave the Stars a chance to win in this game. He got them a point.
Oscar Klefbom, Edmonton:Oilers defenseman's first goal of the season turned out to be a big one. He finished the night with 6 shots on goal and 9 shot attempts.

They said it

"I thought after the first period we executed our game plan really well and I thought we did a really good job of nullifying the (Connor McDavid) line." - Stars coach Jim Montgomery
"The power play is way too methodical. It's one and done, and we are not attacking the net enough, and when there is nothing there, we are not patient enough to not just throw the puck at the net." - Montgomery on the team's struggling power play which went 0-for-2 in the game
"We did a pretty good job for 60 minutes. We played good defensive hockey, and we created a lot of good chances from the good defense. And [Anton Khudobin] was great again." - Stars defenseman Roman Polak
"We got a lot of call-ups and we're a bunch of underdogs, to be honest. We're playing our hearts out. But at the same time, I need to step up. I've got some offense to my game, and I need to maybe contribute a little more, too." - Stars defenseman Gavin Bayreuther

Stat pack

What's next

The Stars continue their road trip Wednesday when they play at Calgary. This will be the first of three meetings this season between the Stars and Flames. Calgary (14-9-1) is coming off a 6-1 win over Arizona on Sunday and has won four of its last five games.

Stars lineup

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Roope Hintz - Jason Spezza - Devin Shore
Valeri Nichushkin - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark - Jason Dickinson - Blake Comeau
Esa Lindell - Miro Heiskanen
Gavin Bayreuther - Roman Polak
Joel Hanley - Taylor Fedun
Anton Khudobin
Landon Bow
Scratched: Gemel Smith, Brett Ritchie, Julius Honka
Injured: Ben Bishop (lower body), John Klingberg (hand), Marc Methot (lower body), Connor Carrick (foot), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches)

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.