Heika’s Take: Game 1 an issue once again as Stars fall to Oilers in double overtime

The bad news is that in the Pete DeBoer era, the Stars have lost Game 1 in six straight playoff series.

The good news is they have come back to win the best-of-seven battle in four of the previous five showdowns.

So while it was a tough loss for the team after a 3-2 double overtime loss to Edmonton on Thursday night at American Airlines Center, there is plenty of hope as they prepare for Game 2 on Saturday.

“I think we've had some Game 1’s where we've been feeling it out and laid some eggs, but that wasn't the case tonight," said forward Tyler Seguin, who scored twice. “We played a good enough game to win, but so did they. It’s inches out there. It was a great hockey game, and we’ve been here many times.”

This series has a lot of interesting elements, and many of them were on display Thursday. Can the Stars hold the Oilers’ superstars off the scoresheet? Edmonton received goals from Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and the game-winner from Connor McDavid, so check that one off as a concern going forward. Can the Stars play disciplined hockey and not let the Oilers’ power play beat them? Dallas took just one penalty and killed that off, so that goes in the good column. Would the Stars be a little rusty after a bit of an extended break? Yes, it seemed that way. Could that help them as the series moves forward, and the two teams start engaging in a battle of endurance and will?

Yeah, that seems likely.

“The main thing is you’ve got to find a way to survive and move on,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “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 concerned about that. We need to find another level in home games and the wins will take care of themselves.”

The Stars have come back from Game 1 losses to beat Minnesota, Seattle, Vegas and Colorado. They lost in Game 2 last season to Vegas and eventually lost in six games to the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. This year feels different. Yes, the Oilers have been the hottest team in the NHL since November and deserve a ton of credit, but the Stars also are a better team than they were last season, and they seem to be hardened by some of these experiences.

Game 1 was a story that unfolded in layers. The Stars beat Colorado last Friday and had been sitting around waiting for Thursday night. Edmonton beat Vancouver in Game 7 of its Second Round series on Monday.

“If it was my choice, we would have started two days earlier,” Seguin said. “It was nice to get a break, but the break got a little long.”

While DeBoer added, “I thought we got better as the game went on, for sure. I didn’t think we were great early but as the game went on we got a little bit better. We have another level we can get to and we’re going to have to against that team.”

The Stars actually had a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, but Edmonton took over and had a 24-17 advantage in the second and third periods. That allowed the Oilers to take a 2-0 lead four minutes into the second period, and it looked like maybe this wouldn’t be the night for the Stars.

But Seguin came back with a goal six minutes into the second period and then tied things up 16 minutes into the third. The first tally came after Jamie Benn got a puck to the net and Seguin scrapped to pop in the rebound. The second came late in regulation on a bang-bang play after a Jason Robertson shot deflected off Evgenii Dadonov and right to Seguin, for a nice swipe into an open net.

“He was great,” DeBoer said of Seguin. “He was our best player. He’s been like that for a while. I’ve been really impressed with his leadership and the consistency of his play.”

That set up the overtime, and Dallas was very good once again in the extra frame. The Stars went 1-5 in playoff overtime last season, including two losses in the second minute of the overtime. This season, Dallas is 2-2 with every extra session going more than 11 minutes. The Game 6 win at Colorado last week went 31 minutes and Thursday’s Game 1 loss went 20:32.

That seems like some amount of progress, and it could be helpful as the Stars push forward.

The overtime was loaded with great plays. Matt Duchene drew a high stick from McDavid on the opening faceoff, and Dallas received a four minute power play. The Stars had some great looks and Robertson hit the post at one point, just inches from ending the game. Colorado came back and McDavid received a great chance in front of Jake Oettinger. However, Oettinger laid out and defenseman Chris Tanev got his stick in the way, and the game trickled on to the second overtime.

There, McDavid found himself alone in front as Dallas had a collective bad read, with three players getting stuck behind the net.

“It doesn’t really matter if it’s overtime or the first period,” Dadonov said. “We just need to stay and play with our structure and keep doing whatever we have been doing and believe in it.”

Edmonton is now 2-1 in playoff overtime and 9-4 overall in the postseason. Dallas is now 8-6 in the playoffs, including 3-5 at home. The Stars say they don’t feel any different at American Airlines Center and they need to be back on their toes by Saturday’s Game 2.

“This time of year, you 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 and little bounces. It will be a fun opportunity and we have to win the next one at home.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.