Heika’s Take: Stars stage furious comeback in third period to torch Oilers

To paraphrase Tina Turner, the Stars never, ever do anything nice and easy.

That might be one reason they are where they are right now.

Dallas allowed the first goal on Wednesday in Game 1 against the Edmonton Oilers. It was their 11th time doing so in 14 playoff games. Yet, the Stars bounced back and took a 6-3 win at American Airlines Center.

In a season filled with adversity, the lads in Victory Green have developed a steely demeanor that has been refreshing.

“We have a calmness to this team,” said center Matt Duchene, who scored his first goal of the playoff season and won 7-of-11 faceoffs. “One thing that’s impressed me about this group from day one is just the even keel. Win or lose, play well, play bad, have a great period, have a bad period. It’s just right back at it.”

When you look at the year, Dallas lost Tyler Seguin in early December, lost Miro Heiskanen 50 games in, and lost Jason Robertson in the regular season finale. Yet, the Stars found a way to beat Colorado in seven games and Winnipeg in six games just to get to this point.

And, yes, there were plenty of things working against this team as it tried to overcome a 3-1 deficit heading into the third period on Wednesday. One, they had lost eight of the previous nine Game 1’s dating back to 2022. Two, they went 0-for-14 on the power play against the Oilers last season – a huge factor in an eventual six-game loss in the Western Conference Final. Three, several players were snakebit in their attempts to score goals, and it seemed to be getting to them.

But in one period, Dallas addressed all of that negativity. Getting a power play to start the third period, Heiskanen scored 32 seconds in to make it a one-goal game. Heiskanen missed three and a half months following knee surgery and was playing in just his fourth game back. However, coach Pete DeBoer decided to trust his best defenseman and went from an 11-7 format back to 12-6. Heiskanen ended up playing 24:13 and logged a goal and an assist.

“He’s a game changer for us,” DeBoer said. “He changes our team. and we survived the first round and a half without him. But he’s our difference-maker for us.”

Heiskanen received a nice screen from Mason Marchment on the play, and that seemed to help break the curse the Oilers penalty kill had on Dallas.

“The goal by Miro was huge, that gave us a lot of energy in our game,” said Mikael Granlund, who scored the next power play goal. “It wasn’t the best of us for the first two periods, but for that goal we got some momentum, some energy. Obviously, the power play was the difference.”

Sam Steel drew a high stick from Corey Perry three minutes after the Heiskanen goal to give Dallas another man advantage. Granlund cashed in with a laser of a shot to tie things at 3-3. Three minutes after that, Duchene drew a high stick and then converted on the ensuing power play for the game-winning goal.

Duchene collected a rebound that he initially shot off Roope Hintz’s back and lifted the puck over Skinner for the lead. That capped a run of three power play goals in five minutes and showed to the Stars – and the hockey world, really – just how much this team has been helped by adversity.

"There's a calmness to our group, there always has been,” Seguin said. “I've seen it over the last few years, and I don't know where it kind of really started, but we have a lot of belief in us. We never fully think we're out of the game. I think the message right now for all of us is: It's pretty cool to be here three years in a row, but you don't get to be here four, five years in a row. So you've got to find different ways on different nights. I think the message was: 'We've got to respond right now.'”

Seguin then tipped in a Steel shot for his second goal of the game and Esa Lindell added an empty-net goal to make this a statement win. Not only is Dallas now 7-1 at American Airlines Center in these playoffs, it has won a Game 1 for the second time in a row. Facing an Oilers team that made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season, that’s a huge accomplishment.

“That’s a great team we played against. There’s only great teams left right now,” Granlund said. “You know you’ve got to be ready.”

The game started slow for the Stars, as Leon Draisaitl whipped in a beautiful shot to cap a nice cycle and give the Oilers a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the first period. Seguin tied things up five minutes later with an unassisted breakaway goal that showed the speed of a younger man. He poked a puck forward and then outraced the defense to pot a marker against Stuart Skinner.

That made the first period seem a little more palatable, but Edmonton dominated the second and took a 3-1 lead into the dressing room. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on a power play and Evan Bouchard added his fifth goal of the playoffs, and the Stars looked like they were sinking in quicksand. Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Connor McDavid had two assists, and the Dynamic Duo sure looked like a match that might be too tough for the Stars.

But, as they have done so many times this year, Dallas bounced back. They clearly took momentum from the power play, but they also earned their opportunities with hard work and composure. Dallas finished with an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal in the third period and actually led in that category for the game, 28-27. That’s been rare in these playoffs for the Stars, and could be a sign of what’s possible going forward.

“It’s a great comeback win for us,” Duchene said. “The nice thing is when you win a game in the playoffs without your A-game, you want to take it and run with it. We want to be better next game. At the end of the day, you take that one and you try to get greedy and take two 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 X @MikeHeika.