There was no comeback story in this one as the Dallas Stars offense fell on deaf ears.
Tonight, the comeback kids took a nap.
The Edmonton Oilers tied their best-of-seven Western Conference Final series at one game apiece against the Dallas Stars Friday night, shutting out the home team 3-0 at American Airlines Center.
The game played out very similar to Game 1. The only thing that was missing was Dallas catching lightning a bottle and three power play goals in six minutes to snatch the victory despite getting outplayed for a majority of the game. However, it was all Oilers in Game 2.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton on the board in the first period, before Brett Kulak and Connor Brown provided insurance markers in the second period. And between the pipes, Stuart Skinner was back to his winning ways. Prior to the epic meltdown that was Game 1, Skinner was coming off back-to-back shutouts and appeared on his way to another impressive victory before the Stars went on an absolute tirade. But for Skinner, this is his best stretch of hockey yet. This is his third shutout win for the Oilers in their last four games.
Now the Oilers head back home to Rogers Place, and you know the fans will be roaring from every end of the arena. The Oilers have been near perfect at home in the playoffs, and the Stars have lost four games on the road. However, two of those defeats came at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, whom the Stars defeated in the First Round.
This performance exhibited the mental fortitude of this Oilers team. At the end of Game 1, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl could only stare at each other in utter disbelief. That type of defeat would haunt most people, but McDavid is a tremendous leader and we’ve seen that time and time again, especially last year when he chose to remain in the locker room with his teammates after their loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals rather than go out to accept the Conn Smythe Trophy, which is an individual honor.
How It Happened
But in Game 2, there was no collapse. The only thing that was burnt to a crisp, was the mood inside American Airlines Center. Unlike the first game, the penalty kill was stout. They killed off their first infraction in the opening period. Dallas had one last dash effort to get into the game, but Darnell Nurse thwarted his intentions when he slashed Roope Hintz on the foot, sending him to the dressing room with 16 minutes left in regulation.
The Oilers benefitted from a shaky call in the first period when Mikael Granlund was sent to the box for boarding after Troy Stetcher turned his back into the hit, making it look a lot worse than it actually was. Edmonton subsequently scored just 17 seconds into the power play to give them the lead.
Skinner is a lot like former heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder but as a goalie. He’s very unorthodox, but when he’s locked in, he’s one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. Outdueling Jake Oettinger in the regular season, let alone in the playoffs is not an easy task. Both goaltenders were great tonight. Skinner made 25 saves while Oettinger saved 22 of the 25 shots he faced.
Upcoming
We go to Game 3 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sunday, but this time it’s an early game. Puck drop is at 1 p.m. local time.