Duchene scores twice, Dallas tops Edmonton in West Final rematch

DALLAS -- Matt Duchene scored twice, and the Dallas Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

It was the first game between the teams since Edmonton eliminated Dallas in the Western Conference Final in six games last season.

"The first 35 minutes for us and everyone on the team was garbage, and we were trying to get something going," Duchene said. "You've got to stay patient sometimes and be ready for it to break and not try to get frustrated. I think our structure is really effective. So even when we're not at our best, we kind of bend but we don't break. And when we do break, we have a great goaltender back there to bail us out."

Roope Hintz had a goal and two assists, and Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist and for Dallas (5-1-0). Jake Oettinger made 30 saves. He has allowed six goals in four games this season.

"I think I'm more confident," Oettinger said. "As a goalie you want to be aggressive but when you're 6-foot-6, you can be deeper and that helps you get to plays easier, especially when [the Oilers] can snap it around like [that]. If you're six inches outside the crease, they're going to make you look pretty silly. So just the confidence and the reads that I've worked on. I can make a lot of saves from the goal line, so if I can just be patient and stay back a little bit more, it kind of slows things down for me."

Leon Draisaitl scored, and Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for Edmonton (2-4-0), which had won two straight games.

"I thought we were really good at the start of the game," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I thought the turning point was when they had their first power play. The first 20 (minutes) definitely, our pace was good, we were checking really well, and just couldn't capitalize. Just couldn't get the puck in the net. We had two power-play opportunities and had some chances, they didn't go in. They get their power play and score right away. That was a big turning point of the game."

Duchene scored a power-play goal to give Dallas a 1-0 lead with 26 seconds remaining in the second period. Hintz won a face-off and passed the puck back to the point where Duchene shot from the high slot to beat Skinner glove side.

"The first goal was obviously critical," Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. "We got our legs as the game went on. I didn't like our first period (outshot 11-2). When I look at our schedule, I think it was six games in nine or 10 nights. Afternoon game coming off the road in Washington (3-2 loss on Thursday), I expected we may be a little off tonight. [Oettinger] held us in early until we found our legs."

Duchene scored his second of the game at 12:06 of the third period to give Dallas a 2-0 lead when Mason Marchment found him driving the net front on a pass from the top of the goal crease.

"I saw him coming. I was just kind of waiting to see if that other defenseman was going to come at me and he ended up coming," Marchment said. "I knew [Duchene] was going to be there. He did a great job of putting it in the net."

Hintz increased the lead 1:10 later to make it 3-0 at 13:16 on a shot from the right face-off circle.

"I would have liked to have played better on those 5-on-5's," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "I would have liked to have done better on those power plays. … They beat us there and we'll be thinking [about] that."

Draisaitl cut the lead to 3-1 at 17:38, and Robertson scored an empty-net goal for the 4-1 final at 18:01.

"There are times where every power-play is going to go through a stretch of not scoring," Knoblauch said. "We've gone six games in now and we're 1-for-15. I'm not sure if it's something we do right away but it's something that's certainly on our minds. Besides putting the puck in the net, we will evaluate and look at it. We're at the point where we need to consider making some adjustments to it."

NOTES: Draisaitl scored his 350th career goal. … Edmonton center Connor McDavid extended his scoring streak to five games (one goal, five assists). … Dallas forward Sam Steel did not play after he was injured on his last shift against the Capitals on Thursday and forward Tyler Seguin missed his third game with a lower-body injury. … The Stars placed defenseman Mathew Dumba (lower body) on injured reserve Saturday retroactive to Oct. 12.