The Edmonton Oilers walked into Dallas and looked like the better team for 40 minutes. They dictated the pace, scored timely goals, and had the Stars chasing the game heading into the third period. But in the playoffs, games are won in moments, and the Oilers gave all of them away in a disastrous final frame.
Despite holding a 3-1 lead entering the third, Edmonton took three consecutive penalties and watched the Dallas Stars seize full control, scoring three straight powerplay goals and adding two more for good measure. What started as a promising road performance turned into a 6-3 loss and a missed opportunity to steal Game 1 on the road.
Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring at 10:19 of the first period, taking a feed from Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid to bury his sixth goal of the postseason. Although Tyler Seguin tied it up with a quick strike five minutes later, the Oilers came out flying in the second.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on the power play early in the frame, ripping one past Jake Oettinger with assists from McDavid and Draisaitl. Less than two minutes later, Evan Bouchard extended the lead to 3-1 on a wrist shot, and the Oilers looked firmly in control.
But the third period was a different story — and one Edmonton will want to forget.
It took just 32 seconds for Dallas to start their comeback. Miro Heiskanen made it 3-2 on the power play, and from there, the Stars never took their foot off the gas. Mikael Granlund tied it 3-3 with another powerplay marker at 3:49, and just over two minutes later, Matt Duchene gave Dallas the lead with the team’s third powerplay goal of the period.
From that point on, the Oilers looked stunned. The offensive zone pressure they had generated all game disappeared, replaced with sloppy execution and turnovers. Tyler Seguin added his second of the night at 16:02, and Esa Lindell capped things off with an empty-netter just 43 seconds later.
The Stars scored five unanswered goals in the third, while the Oilers managed almost nothing offensively.
There’s no doubt Edmonton let one get away tonight. Penalty trouble swung momentum hard in Dallas’ favour, and the Oilers couldn’t respond. They’ll need to clean up the discipline and find their edge again before Game 2 — or this series could start slipping faster than anyone expected.