Stars took full advantage of Oilers’ third-period collapse in Game 1
It took less than seven minutes for the Dallas Stars to turn things around on Wednesday night. With a five-goal third period, they turned a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
Fuelled by the Oilers’ parade to the penalty box late in the game, the Stars scored on three of their four power-play opportunities, before Esa Lindell netted an empty-net goal to seal the result.
After dramatically winning Game 1, the Stars hope to continue their power-play success throughout the series.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed how the Stars’ rally could influence the rest of the series.
Yaremchuk: Supernova! It’s when a star explodes, and that is exactly what Dallas did in the third period, scoring three power-play goals in just six minutes, which is mind-blowing from a couple of perspectives. That your power-play is so damn good you can score three times on three attempts in six minutes and that the other team gave you three power-play attempts in six and a half minutes.
Seravalli: That’s the more surprising part. To say that the Dallas Stars could score three in a row, I guess that’s lightning in a bottle, but to take three penalties in six minutes is also pretty difficult.
The Oilers unravelled, and some of the things that really stand out include that Stuart Skinner showed his game again. You could say, ‘Okay, they shouldn’t have been on the penalty kill three times.’ Guess what? You’re allowed to make a save. It’s permissible to bail your team out, but time and time again, I feel like the Oilers continue not to get that from Stuart Skinner.
I’ve seen a lot of reaction from Oilers fans on social media over the last 12 hours that says: ‘Well, they gave it away. They did so against the LA Kings; this team bounces back. Not a big deal. Look how much they dominated at five-on-five, and look how much they dominated the first two periods. My opinion about the Oilers and this series hasn’t changed. They are okay and just fine.’
They might be [fine], and I am not saying they’re not. I’m just saying the quality of competition is vastly different. I think the alarm should be raised to a different level today ahead of Game 2, because it’s not just the quality of competition.
You’re not very likely to dominate the Dallas Stars over the first two periods like you did. That’s not going to happen in the last six games of the series. Dallas is very likely to be better. Can the Oilers clean it up? Yes, but then there’s this Stuart Skinner thing again. Can they get enough saves if things break down again? That part I’m very unsold on.
You can catch the rest of the Oilers vs. Stars talk and Thursday’s episode here…