McDavid scores in 2OT, Oilers defeat Stars in Game 1 of West Final

DALLAS -- Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into the second overtime, giving the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at American Airlines Center on Thursday.

McDavid redirected a centering pass from Evan Bouchard past Jake Oettinger.

“It was nice to score in overtime. A big goal, great play by [Bouchard] as usual,” said McDavid, the Edmonton captain. “You’ve got to win tight games. We’re down to the final four teams. You don’t get to the final four without being a great team, so all four teams are solid. Dallas is a great team. It’s going to be tight hockey.”

The goal came after Oettinger made a sprawling stick save on McDavid with 5:21 remaining in the first overtime. McDavid took a pass from Zach Hyman at the top of the crease and reached around Oettinger’s outstretched right pad, only for the goalie to extend his stick and stop the puck as it was heading into an empty right side of the net. Defenseman Chris Tanev cut across the crease to get his stick on the puck as well.

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series will be here Saturday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“In a perfect world, we’d like to win Game 1. We’d like to win every series four straight, too. It doesn’t happen,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think the main thing is, you’ve got to find a way to survive and move on. We’ve got to park this game. We’ve been in this situation before. We’re the best road team in the League. I’m not as concerned about that. I think we need to find another level in our own game, and the wins will take care of themselves.”

Leon Draisaitl and Hyman also scored, and Stuart Skinner made 31 saves for the Oilers, who are the No. 2 seed from the Pacific Division.

“Teams that have success in the playoffs are good defending teams, teams that can check and play responsible,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. "There’ll be nights in the playoffs that we can score goals, but to win consistently, we have to be able to defend. You can’t play a perfect game, but we have to make sure we limit those errors and I think we’ve done a good job of that. When we have made mistakes, we’ve got to count on our goalie to make some saves. [Skinner] did that tonight.”

Tyler Seguin scored twice, and Oettinger made 35 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 1 seed from the Central Division.

“I thought we got better as the game went on for sure,” DeBoer said. “I didn’t think we were great early in the game. But as that game went on, we got a little bit better. But we have another level we can get to. And we’re going to have to against that team. That’s a good hockey team.”

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the second period when he shot a bouncing puck from his knees at the bottom of the right face-off circle. He leads the NHL with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 13 games in these Stanley Cup Playoffs and has at least one point in each game.

“We can score goals 5-on-5,” McDavid said. “Our power play’s been good for a long time and it’s been there for us when we need it. We can generate chances, we can score goals 5-on-5, even when the power play, we’re not getting them or it’s not necessarily as clean as we’d like. I thought it was a well-rounded game.”

Hyman made it 2-0 at 4:17, slipping a shot between Oettinger’s pads from in front as he fought through a check from Tanev.

“I thought we matched up good. I thought we played really well, at times they had the upper hand at times we had the upper hand. That’s the way it’s supposed to be in the playoffs,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “I really enjoyed the way we played Game 1, but again, it’s one win. Doesn’t really matter in the long run. We have to be ready to go in Game 2.”

Seguin cut it to 2-1 at 6:11 during a scramble in front after Jamie Benn intercepted a clearing attempt by Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak.

“He’s learning how to find a way to get different goals and it’s great to see,” Benn said of Seguin. “He’s having a great playoffs so far, so hopefully we can keep him going.”

Seguin scored his second of the game to tie it 2-2 at 16:37 of the third period. Jason Robertson threw the puck on net from the slot, and Evgenii Dadonov redirected it to Seguin for a tap in at the left post.

“We played a good enough game to win, and so did they. It's inches out there,” Seguin said. “I thought it was a great hockey game, and we've been here many times. Two teams here in the West that are here for a reason, so it’s going to be little inches out there, little bounces. It’s going to be a fun opportunity and we’ve got to win the next one at home.”

The Oilers went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, including a four-minute double minor for high-sticking against McDavid 17 seconds into the first overtime. They have killed off 19 straight power plays.

NOTES: Edmonton is 33-for-36 on the penalty kill in the playoffs. … Draisaitl became the fifth player in NHL history with a postseason-opening point streak of at least 13 games.