Connor McDavid scored in the second overtime period and the Edmonton Oilers started the Western Conference final with a victory on Thursday, winning 3-2 against the Dallas Stars.
McDavid deflected a shot from Evan Bouchard after just 32 seconds of play to score his third goal of the playoffs.
Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who recorded their first third-round victory since losing in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
Stuart Skinner stopped 31 pucks to sign a third victory in a row. He hadn’t faced more than 19 shots in his previous four games.
Tyler Seguin scored twice in the loss, while Jake Oettinger made 35 saves. The Stars are playing in their second straight Western Final after being eliminated in six games by the Vegas Golden Knights last year.
The second game of this series will take place on Saturday in Dallas.
A slow start
After a first period during which the two teams observed each other, the game opened up in the second.
Draisaitl opened the scoring for the Oilers 58 seconds into the second during a power play. The German found himself in an excellent position in front of Oettinger after Esa Lindell blocked a Brett Kulak shot.
Oettinger, who had compromised to his right to block Kulak’s shot, had no chance against Draisaitl’s shot to his left. The best scorer in the playoffs so far scored a ninth goal since the start of the spring tournament.
Draisaitl also became the fifth player in NHL history to obtain at least one point in his team’s first 13 playoff games.
Hyman doubled the Oilers’ lead at 4:17. He took advantage of a partially blocked pass from his teammate Connor McDavid to deceive Oettinger’s vigilance. It was his 12e playoff net.
After contributing to his team’s offensive efforts, Kulak paved the way for the Stars’ first goal. The former Montreal Canadiens fullback missed a pass in his own zone, allowing Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn to find themselves alone in front of Skinner.
The Oilers goaltender blocked Benn’s initial shot, but Seguin scored his fourth of the playoffs at 6:11 by recovering the rebound.
The Stars responded when Evgenii Dadonov deflected a Jason Robertson shot that ended up on Seguin’s stick. His second of the game came at 16:37 of the third period.
McDavid received a double minor penalty in the first overtime for a high stick against Seguin, but the Stars were unable to take advantage. Two of their shots still made the posts resonate during this power play sequence.
McDavid then had the winning goal at the end of the stick, but Oettinger used his stick himself by diving to his right to extend the game.
The Oilers captain then ended the game on his first appearance on the ice during the second overtime period.