Oilers top Stars, Hitchcock wins home debut as coach

EDMONTON --Oscar Klefbom scored 2:42 into overtime for the Edmonton Oilers to give coach Ken Hitchcock a win in his home debut, 1-0 against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

Klefbom took a pass from Leon Draisaitl and shot past goalie Anton Khudobin for his first goal of the season. Klefbom last scored on March 14 in a 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks.
"It's been a long wait between goals with a lot of shots on goal," Klefbom said. "It was a good time to get the first one tonight. It was a tight game overall. I can't remember the last time I played in a 0-0 hockey game. It was nice to get the first one tonight and it was perfect timing."
WATCH: [All Stars vs. Oilers highlights]
Mikko Koskinen made 28 saves for his second shutout of the season for the Oilers (11-11-2), who had lost two in a row. Koskinen is 6-2-1 in nine games (eight starts) this season.
"The guys are playing great in front of me," Koskinen said. "It makes my job so much easier when everyone is on the same page. Now we just have to keep doing that every day and keep getting better and better. Hopefully the offense will start to come more too."

Khudobin made 30 saves for the Stars (12-10-3), who have lost four of five (1-3-1).
Connor McDavid came close to scoring at 1:12 of overtime, but his attempt on a breakaway was swept off the goal line by Stars defenseman Gavin Bayreuther. The play was reviewed, and it was determined the puck did not completely cross the goal line.
"Our focal point was keeping an eye on Connor McDavid and he got a breakaway," Bayreuther said. "You have to retreat back to the house no matter what, and luckily, I knew it didn't go in, but it was close. Unfortunately, they scored shortly after."
Dallas had an excellent opportunity to win the game when the puck bounced to Jamie Benn in the slot with three seconds left in the third period. Benn had Tyler Seguin open at the side of the net but elected to shoot, and Koskinen made the save as time expired.
"When your best players have the puck on their sticks, you trust their instincts," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "Jamie thought he found a hole, and I'm not sure if he knew [Seguin] was on the back door or not. Usually he makes that play, but I think he saw a hole there to try and finish the game."

Koskinen made seven saves in the third period.
"I saw that the play was going to end up there, but also that there was an option to pass," Koskinen said. "But he decided to shoot it, and I kind of felt it hit me and [I] squeezed it and was happy that I had it."
Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson hit the crossbar with a shot from the point at 7:58 of the first period, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit the side of the net on a follow-up attempt with Khudobin out of position.
Koskinen made an excellent save on Mattias Janmark on a rebound at 5:55 of the second period.
Nugent-Hopkins hit the post on an Edmonton power play 54 seconds into the third period.
"One thing I've learned coaching in the West is, you've got to get points when you're tired," Hitchcock said. "We knew when we didn't get the lead in the first period that we'd be in a bit of trouble because our energy was lacking, so we ground it down. You've got to get points in the West when you're down to eight percent, and that means you have to grind them."

They said it

"I thought it was a really good defensive game by both teams and I thought both teams showed a lot of creativity in the offensive zone. Both goalies had to be good at times and in the end they made one more play than we did." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery
"Three-on-three is almost that it doesn't matter who's forward or defense, it's just kind of three guys. Obviously if there's a 2-on-1 coming back you'd like [Oscar Klefbom] to be able to play it, but at the same time he can jump up and score and he's done that a number of times since we started playing 3-on-3." -- Oilers center Connor McDavid

Need to know

Dallas has played two games this season that were scoreless in regulation. They defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 in overtime Nov. 16 … Stars rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen played 25:47, while partner Esa Lindell played a team-high 26:37. … McDavid had a six-game point streak end … Hitchcock, who was hired Nov. 20, went 1-1-1 on a California road trip.

What's next

Stars: At the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, FS-SW+, NHL.TV)
Oilers: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-W, NHL.TV)