DALLAS (AP) — Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into the second overtime and the Edmonton Oilers overcame their captain’s double-minor penalty in the first extra period to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday night.
The Stars were 0 for 3 on power plays in regulation, then couldn’t capitalize on four minutes with a man advantage after a high-stick penalty against McDavid in the opening seconds of the first overtime that wasn’t called until a replay review on the next stoppage of play,
Leon Draisaitl extended his playoff-opening points streak to 13 games with a goal, and Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner stopped 31 shots, nine in the overtime, three nights after the Oilers wrapped up their second-round series with a Game 7 victory on the road at Edmonton.
Tyler Seguin scored both goals for the Stars, who have lost Game 1 in their last seven playoff series since 2022.
Game 2 is Saturday night.
McDavid and Matt Duchene were skating away from the center circle by each other after the Oilers captain had won the faceoff between the two to open the first overtime period. There wasn’t initially a whistle when Duchene took a stick to the face, though McDavid argued that his stick was being held..
When Stars goalie Jake Oettinger secured the puck on a shot by Evan Bouchard to stop the clock 17 seconds into overtime, and with blood on Duchene’s lower lip, officials did a replay review and enforced a double-minor penalty.
Bouchard later had the lone assist when McDavid scored the game-winner on a tip-in. It was only the third goal this postseason for McDavid, one in each series so far.
Dallas called a timeout after three shots through the first three minutes of that penalty, along with Jason Robertson hitting the post. But the Stars got only one more shot on net after that before McDavid was out of the penalty box.
McDavid had a chance to end the game with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the first overtime, but his shot was blocked when Oettinger and defenseman Chris Tanev both put their sticks down to keep the puck out of the net.
Oettinger had 35 saves.
Seguin had tied it at 2 with 3:23 left in the regulation after an active shift when he touched the puck several times before scoring to the open net to the right of Skinner. Evgenii Dadonov was between two defenders on the other side when he made a poke pass across the crease.
This is the first playoff matchup between the Oilers and Stars since 2003, when they met in the postseason for sixth time in seven years. Dallas won the last five of those series.
Both teams lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion in their last trips to the West final — Dallas last year to Vegas; the Oilers to Colorado in 2021. The Stars advanced to the third round this time with series wins over those last two Cup champions.
Edmonton scored first about a minute into the second period when Leon Draisaitl got his ninth goal of the postseason. His shot from just inside the right circle after Brett Kulak’s shot ricocheted off Stars defenseman Esa Lindell.
While not credited with an assist, McDavid helped set up that initial score from behind the net. He fell down and was in a sitting position against the board when he pushed the puck out front, where Hyman got a piece of it before Kulak.
McDavid did get the helper on Hyman’s goal that made it 2-0 about 3 1/2 minutes later. The captain’s backhanded crossing pass hit the stick of Tanev, but Hyman then got the puck and worked through the Dallas defenseman for a short wrister.
Edmonton almost restored its two-goal advantage when Mattias Ekholm got a puck past Oettinger with about eight minutes left in the second period, but it bounced off the crossbar.
The Stars got within 2-1 when Benn, their captain, made a push toward the net that drew out Skinner. With the goalie spread eagle and leaning forward, Benn had a backhander that went behind him and went across the crease to Seguin, who poked it through Kulak’s legs.
Including the double-minor in overtime, the Oilers have killed 20 consecutive penalties over five-plus games. They are the best in the league this postseason at 92.5% (37 of 40), after ranking in the middle of the pack during the regular season.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
