Jason Robertson propels Stars to 5-3 victory over Oilers, securing lead in Western Conference Final
Wyatt Johnston and Miro Heiskanen, with an empty-netter, also scored for Dallas. Goalie Jake Oettinger recorded 26 saves, while Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, and Jamie Benn each tallied two assists.
“You want to help the team win, you want to score goals,” said Robertson, who broke a scoring drought dating back to Game 6 of the first round. “Scoring one gives you confidence … like a domino effect.”
Connor McDavid, with a goal and an assist to reach 100 career playoff points, Zach Hyman, and Adam Henrique scored for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner made 17 stops for the Oilers.
“A real good start,” said McDavid. “I’m not sure where those 10, 15 minutes come from, but it’s as bad as it’s been throughout the playoffs.”
With this victory, Dallas reclaimed home-ice advantage and improved their playoff road record to 6-1, reflecting their league-best regular-season road performance.
Hintz returned to the lineup for Dallas after missing four games due to an upper-body injury sustained in Game 4 of the second round against the Colorado Avalanche.
“We gutted it out while (Hintz) was out of the lineup,” Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we found ways to contribute without a key player. That’s what I’m most proud of. It was great to have him back tonight.”
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is set for Wednesday night.
Henrique also returned for Edmonton after missing seven of the last eight games with a suspected ankle injury. Hintz’s impact was immediately felt despite his layoff.
“You never know what a player’s going to bring after a stretch of not playing,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Usually it’s very hard for a player to find their game, but I don’t think he had any problems. He made a lot of nice plays, including the goal, and was solid on faceoffs.”
After the Oilers dominated the opening period, the Stars seized momentum in the second. Robertson tied the game 3-3 at 11:54 of the third with a jam play that slipped through Skinner. Edmonton’s attempt to force overtime by pulling their goaltender was thwarted when Heiskanen scored into the empty net with 1:55 left.
The Oilers started strong in a deafening Rogers Place. McDavid’s shot deflected off Hyman just 2:02 into the game for Hyman’s NHL-leading 13th playoff goal. Edmonton extended their lead to 2-0 at 7:37 when Mattias Ekholm set up McDavid for his fourth goal of the series.
The Stars responded impressively in the second period. Robertson scored his fourth goal at 5:35 on a one-timer, followed by his second of the night at 8:05. Johnston then made it 3-2 just 63 seconds later, marking the fastest trio of goals in Dallas postseason history since their move to Texas in 1993.
Post a Comment