Stars score 3 in 5½ minutes to beat Oilers 6-3 in Game 1 of Western Conference final

Stephen Hawkins · The Associated Press

· Posted: May 22, 2025 12:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The Dallas Stars powered their mode to a series-opening triumph successful their Western Conference last rematch with the Edmonton Oilers.

And it was speedy turnaround.

Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene scored power-play goals successful a 5:26 span aboriginal successful the 3rd period, erstwhile the Stars overcame a two-goal shortage successful a 6-3 triumph Wednesday night.

"It started with a powerfulness play," Duchene said. "You get 1 close way, and it's like, 'Hey, we're backmost successful it present with momentum.' Get different 1 close away."

Dallas opened the 3rd play with a antheral vantage from a punishment that carried implicit from the second. Heiskanen scored 32 seconds successful connected a changeable from adjacent the bluish line, Granlund tied it astatine 3 and Duchene enactment the Stars up to enactment with a second-effort score.

"I didn't consciousness done 40 minutes that we had made (the Oilers) gain the presumption they were in. so, guys responded. We got fortunate. We got immoderate power-play goals," Stars manager Pete DeBoer said. "Happy for our powerfulness play. It took a batch of vigor past twelvemonth astatine this constituent of the year. it was the quality contiguous for us, truthful it's great."

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Tyler Seguin had 2 goals and an assistance for the Stars. Esa Lindell added a empty-netter that went astir the full magnitude of the crystal for their archetypal five-goal 3rd play successful a playoff game. Jake Oettinger stopped 24 shots.

Game 2 is Friday nighttime successful Dallas.

Dallas went 0 for 14 connected powerfulness plays successful losing the West last past twelvemonth successful six games, and gave up 2 short-handed goals successful the process. The Stars besides failed to person with a antheral vantage lone 7½ minutes into this opener, but rapidly turned that astir successful the 3rd period.

Leon Draisaitl had a extremity and 2 assists for the rested Oilers, who played for the archetypal clip since wrapping up their second-round bid a week earlier successful Game 5 astatine Vegas. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a power-play extremity and an assist, defenceman Evan Bouchard had his 5th extremity and Connor McDavid 2 assists.

Stuart Skinner, who had mislaid his starting occupation successful these playoffs earlier Calvin Pickard got wounded successful the past series, stopped 22 of 27 shots. Skinner had closed retired the Golden Knights with consecutive shutouts.

"Goals person been going successful a small differently, successful antithetic ways. Again, it's a antithetic bid truthful they amusement america antithetic things," Skinner said. "The PK, it's been a small spot up and down. It was atrocious astatine the commencement of the archetypal circular past got better. It was large each bid against Vegas and (now) a conflict for 1 game. I mean, again, it's 1 game."

Heiskanen and Duchene some scored for the archetypal clip this postseason.

It was lone the 4th crippled for Heiskanen since missing the past 32 regular-season games and archetypal 10 playoff games due to the fact that of near genu surgery. He scored a wrister from adjacent the boards conscionable wrong the bluish line.

Duchene got his extremity aft his archetypal changeable went disconnected teammate Roope Hintz, who was laid retired connected the crystal aft getting knocked down. The puck went close backmost to Duchene, who past flicked it into the net.

"The archetypal 1 that deed him, I'm like, this is benignant of par for the people this postseason for me. If there's thing that could spell wrong, it did, and past it comes backmost and goes in," Duchene said. "I couldn't judge I inactive had room. Kind of a comic one. But it feels good."

The Stars won their seventh consecutive location crippled this postseason, a archetypal since the franchise moved to Dallas successful 1993. The Stars besides person won back-to-back bid openers aft losing 8 consecutive Game 1s.