Recap: Stars Edge Oilers 5-4

A good game by the Oilers winds up with a disappointing result.

The Edmonton Oilers blew a late third-period lead on Saturday afternoon as the Dallas Stars took home the 5-4 overtime winner. Jamie Benn was the saviour for the Stars.

The first 40 minutes saw the Oilers outplay the Stars for the majority of play, as they carried a 4-2 lead into the final frame. Some lazy play led to the Stars tilting the rink in their favour and tying the game up with less than 2 minutes left to play in regulation.

How did we get here? Lets take a look

First Period:

The game started without much action. The afternoon start time had both teams playing some rather conservative hockey early on. Only 5 shots were recorded in the first 8 minutes of the game.

Dallas would strike first, as Jason Dickinson would find himself all alone in the slot, sniping a shot past Koskinen. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Jujhar Khaira potted his 2nd of the year a mere 10 seconds later to tie the game.

Stars rookie, Nick Caamano, would have a fabulous chance shortly after but would be absolutely robbed by the glove-hand of Mikko Koskinen, which would be his best of the game.

The last minute of the period would prove to a hectic one as the Oilers pushed to take the lead. The first chance came off the stick of Connor McDavid as he tried to squeeze home a wrap-around only to be stopped by the long leg of Ben Bishop. This chance would eventually lead to the puck popping out to Leon Draisaitl who slipped his 16th of the year past Bishop.

At the end of the first period the score read 2-1 in favour of the Edmonton Oilers.

2nd Period:

Dallas would have the early jump in the middle frame. Less than a minute in Jamie Benn fed an open Miro Heiskanen for the tying goal. This was a result of a ferocious forecheck by the Dallas captain, as he beat out Ethan Bear in the corner and worked the puck around the back of the net and onto the stick of Heiskanen in the slot. We were deadlocked at 2-2.

The tie game would not last long, as Jujhar Kharia was able to snipe home his second of the game 2 minutes later after receiving a pass from Connor McDavid on the rush. This would be the end of Ben Bishop’s night, as Anton Khudobin would come on in relief. This sparked Edmonton and led to the Oilers having a dominant period.

Ethan Bear would join the fun late in the frame as he depsited a one-timer on the power play to give the Oilers some insurance. At the end of the 2nd the Oilers led 4-2.

Third Period:

Heading into the third period there was an air of confidence around the Edmonton Oilers. They were a perfect 8-0-0 when they lead after the first two periods.

This though got the best of them as there was considerable drop-off in the quality of play by the Edmonton Oilers in the third period. They took the foot off the pedal and allowed the Dallas Stars to slowly take over the game.

The first signs of life shown by the Stars came on a goal by Blake Comeau 5 minutes into the period, cutting the lead to 4-3. The rest of the period would be controlled by the Stars as they pushed for the equalizer. Patrick Russell had a chance to give the Oilers some more insurance but he was denied by the post.

Then, when it seemed like Edmonton would pull it off, Tyler Seguin rifled home the tying goal with less than 2 minutes left to play in regulation. 4-4 at the end of regulation.

Overtime:

I am not going to go in-depth on this one. McDavid lost the draw to Pavelski and the Stars choked away all the life by constantly pushing the play back to the neutral zone.

Possession was the name of the game in this one and eventually the Stars found a crack in the Oilers defence. Jamie Benn would power his way through and slide home the game winner....only his 2nd of the season.

Game over, Stars take this one 5-4 in overtime.

Takeaways:

• I really liked what I saw from Josh Archibald on the second-line today. He had a lot of fight in his game and that lead to a few good shifts in the offensive zone. There was a point earlier in the season where I thought he should be scratched, but if he keeps it up I like him there.
• Jujhar Khaira gave the Oilers something they desperately needed today: depth scoring. He has a helluva shot when he can get it off and it showed in today’s matchup. Hopefully he can continue to chip in the future.
• Caleb Jones was another player that I thought had a generally positive game. There were a few gaffes that I noticed but overall I enjoyed seeing him out there.
• Mikko Koskinen? He was just ok...he had a fantastic save in the first period and was solid all night long. Edmonton’s defence didn’t do him any favours on any of the goals.
• If I am Dave Tippett I am putting the team on blast for laying back in the third period. They had the game at their fingertips and let it slip away from them. You can’t allow that to become a habit.
• Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are really good at hockey.....but you can’t rely on them to win it ALL the time in overtime. The Stars did a good job at stifling the dynamic duo’s speed in the overtime period and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.
• A very tough loss to swallow but I am all about those silver-linings. The team picked up a point to boost their overall total to 29, which is still 3pts up on the 2nd-place Arizona Coyotes. Their record is still solid at 13-6-3 and we shouldn’t be panicking yet!
• The Oilers will try to get back in the win column on Tuesday as they look for revenge in San Jose against the Sharks.