DALLAS — This time, the only comeback the Edmonton Oilers assured the Dallas Stars was that they’ll be back at the American Airlines Center for Game 5.
After squandering a third-period lead in Game 1, the Oilers again carried a cushion into the final frame, but this time they converted it into a 3-0 win in Game 2.
It was the third time in the past four games that the Oilers shut out an opponent, including Games 4 and 5 of their semifinal series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Oilers went from allowing six goals to the Stars in Game 1 to none in Game 2, leading to questions about Edmonton’s defensive performance that captain Connor McDavid appears tired of answering.
“All right, here we go. Yes, we can play defense,” McDavid said. “We’re a different team than we have been in years past. … We just keep playing good defense. [Stuart Skinner] was great. A couple breakdowns we didn’t like there in the third, but it was great.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between Games 1 and 2 was Edmonton’s penalty kill in the final period. In the opener, the Stars scored three consecutive power-play goals in a sequence of five unanswered that included an empty-netter.
In Game 2, the Oilers allowed only one power-play attempt to the Stars.
The Oilers had watched their penalty kill struggle in the second round, with just a 9.1% success rate.
“The biggest one was obviously the penalty kill,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said about the defensive difference between the first two games. “We gave up three goals and then in the third period, we’re chasing, and we have to cheat a little bit and they got a goal midway through the third period with us absolutely forcing something that wasn’t there. Tonight, when you’re playing with the lead the whole time, you don’t have to force anything.”
Knoblauch also highlighted how the Oilers won more 50/50 battles while blocking more shots. They blocked 17 shots on goal while forcing the Stars to commit 27 giveaways — the most they’ve had this postseason.
Skinner finished with 25 saves, tracking rebounds that were in front of the net and shots from varying distances.
What might have been his signature save on the night came with the Oilers on the power play. Stars forward Roope Hintz deflected a puck in the passing lane that went to Wyatt Johnston, who burst through for a breakaway, only for Skinner to make the save.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave Skinner some breathing room when he scored in the first period. Brett Kulak and Connor Brown added some cushion in the second to push the lead to 3-0.
“From my perspective, you’ve seen the growth happen every single game,” Skinner said. “I feel like every single game, we grew and got better and better and better. I think when you look at the teams that win, they’re normally the teams that are pretty stifling defensively, and I know we’ve been improving and getting better because we want to be that team.”
Oilers defenseman Jake Walman told ESPN that facing teams that have at least three, if not four, lines that can provide offensive contributions is the expectation at this stage of the postseason.
Walman said the Oilers’ objective is to find different ways to frustrate their opponents whenever the other team has possession.
“It’s swarming and being all over on the ice to where you make them feel like there’s 10 guys they have to go through,” Walman said. “I think that’s when we play our best. Not just the D, but the forwards too. Guys being physical, cutting plays down and ending plays quickly. That’s the keys to success for us.”
When asked about the message among the Oilers’ players after they shut out two teams ranked in the top five in goals per game in the regular season, McDavid gave a familiar answer.
“I sound like a broken record, but we know how to play defense,” McDavid said. “Everybody’s bought in, everybody’s tracking, the D are holding their gaps, defending the blue line, breaking pucks out and Stewie’s been there whenever we need him.”
