Oettinger Saves 28 Shots, Stars Take Game Two to Even Series
After a thrilling start to the Western Conference Finals in Game One, the Oilers and Stars continued the series in Game Two on Saturday night. Entering Game Two, the Oilers looked to continue their dominant play on the road this postseason, as they have gone 5-2 and have scored a combined 23 goals. The Oilers, led by Connor McDavid, were able to break through Stars’ goalie Jake Oettinger in Game One, who had given up only one goal in three of his past four starts in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Stars were aiming to bounce back and even the series after dropping Game One in double overtime. In Game Two, Oettinger would put on a strong display, stopping 28 of 29 shots, and the Stars would win 3-1 to level the series at one.
To begin the game, after generating a two-on-one rush into the Oilers' zone, the Stars would flip the script from Game One and score the game's first goal at 3:39 of the first period. Jamie Benn wrist-shotted the puck from the top-of-the-zone past Stuart Skinner's right pad and into the net to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. A mere 44 seconds later, at 4:23, the Oilers would level the score at one. Despite the Oilers being in the middle of a line change, Cody Ceci and Connor Brown would create chances in the Stars' end. After Oettinger initially stopped Ceci's shot, Brown would capitalize on a rebound and bury the puck into the net. The Oilers' offense would keep applying pressure to the Stars' defense by the end of the first 20 minutes, as they had eight hits and 16 shots in the first frame.
Despite many scoring opportunities for both sides in the second period, the Oilers and Stars would remain tied at one. Even though the score was level after 40 minutes, it was clear that the Oilers were in control of the game. Throughout the period, the Stars would create more opportunities and outshoot the Oilers 11–9. After going 0-for-5 in Game One, the Stars would go on their first power play of the game six minutes into the second period, but would again fail to score while on the power play.
In the third period, at 3:41, the Stars would take the lead again at 2-1 when a Ryan Suter shot from the boards ricocheted off of Mason Marchment's stick, went through Skinner's five-hole, and found its way into the net. In an attempt to tie the game with 2:13 remaining in regulation, the Oilers would pull Skinner for an extra attacker. However, Esa Lindell would fire the puck into the empty net from the Stars' end 10 seconds later, increasing the Dallas lead to 3-1. The Oilers attempted to pull Skinner again, but were unsuccessful as the Stars held on for a 3-1 win to even the series at one game apiece. Following the seven shots that McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for in Game One, the Stars' defense tightened up, allowing just three shots on goal to two of the Oilers' best scorers. The series will now shift to Edmonton for Game Three on Monday night as both teams look to seize control of the series.
