May 26, 2024 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Dallas Stars came back with a 3-1 win in Game 2 after suffering a double overtime defeat in Game 1. The Stars opened the scoring 3:39 into the game, but the Oilers tied it 44 seconds later. They were fortunate to be tied after the first period because the Oilers outshot them 16-4 in the first period. The Stars got the go ahead goal early in the third period and added an empty netter to seal the victory.

Call Outs

Derek Ryan was slow to get to a puck along the wall in his own zone, and he lost the ensuing puck battle. The puck went to the point where Ryan Suter was waiting. Suter took a shot that was deflected into the Oilers net by Mason Marchment. The five-on-five scoring chances were 5-1 in favour of the Stars when Ryan was on the ice in Game 2, and his shot metrics weren’t much better. Ryan had 8:20 of ice time, which was the least out of all Oilers forwards.

The top line of Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins combined for a grand total of three shots in Game 2. They have been pillars of excellence throughout the playoffs, but they were largely ineffective in this game. The Oilers will need more chances out of their top line over the course of the rest of the series.

Stand Outs

Connor Brown got the only goal of the game for the Oilers. Brown funneled a puck onto the net and collected the rebound before potting his first goal of the postseason. It looks like Brown is skating much faster than he was able to during the regular season, which is nice to see.

Shoutouts

Stuart Skinner can’t be blamed for this loss. Skinner made 22 saves on 24 shots. Jamie Benn beat him cleanly on a two-on-one, but the Mason Marchment goal was a deflection. Skinner was otherwise solid when called upon.

Wrap

Give the Stars some credit here. This was not a poor performance for the Oilers by any stretch of the imagination. The Oilers outshot the Stars 16-4, but they didn’t generate many quality chances. The Stars defended well the rest of the game. Their neutral zone play was top notch. The Oilers found themselves having to stop and turn back in the neutral zone quite often. They also had a lot of neutral zone passes broken up by the Stars.

While this was a huge opportunity to put the Stars in a terrible position by winning the first two games in their barn, the Oilers have still done well to leave Dallas with a split. The Oilers will be in a great position if they can hold serve at home, but the Stars are an excellent road team.

Game 3 goes on Monday night at Rogers Place.

Related: Call Outs, Stand Outs, and Shoutouts: Oilers take Game 1 in Dallas