GAME RECAP: Stars 4, Oilers 1

DALLAS, TX – Forward Leon Draisaitl spoiled the shutout with the net empty, but the Oilers couldn't make the most of a one-sided opening frame before giving up three unanswered goals to the Stars on Saturday afternoon in a 4-1 defeat at American Airlines Center.

Matt Duchene scored twice for the Stars, while netminder Jake Oettinger had a strong afternoon in between the pipes for Dallas by making 30 saves on 31 shots for his fourth victory of the season.

Forward Jason Robertson added an empty-netter following Leon Draisaitl's tally and finished with a goal and assist along with centre Roope Hintz, who won the faceoff on Dallas' lone power play that led to Duchene opening the scoring on a quick snap shot 12:06 into the second period.

Edmonton outshot Dallas 31-24 on the day, including an 11-2 shot disparity in the opening 20 minutes before Dallas began to find their stride in the middle frame. Stuart Skinner would be charged with the loss after making 20 saves, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid each finished with assists.

"We didn't score in our power plays and they scored on their solo one there at the end of the second," Zach Hyman said. "So they went into the third with the lead, and then obviously, we couldn't capitalize. We had a lot of chances and a lot of looks, but weren't able to beat them until the six-on-five."

The Oilers drop to 2-4-0 on the season as they head home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at Rogers Place in the first game of a two-game homestand.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers outshot the Stars 11-2 at the end of a scoreless opening 20 minutes, matching their entire shot total from last season's clinching Game 6 of the Western Conference Final that ended in a 2-1 victory for the Blue & Orange and a four-game-to-two series win.

With no goals in the opening frame on Saturday afternoon, we were tracking towards another low-scoring contest, but the Oilers certainly had their chances to score the all-important first goal.

"I thought we were really good at the start of the game," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Probably the turning point was right when they had their power play, but the first 20, our pace was definitely good. They were checking really well and just couldn't capitalize."

Edmonton's opportunities started to come before the 15-minute mark when McDavid cradled the puck into the middle of the Dallas zone before cutting back and finding Zach Hyman for a chance in front that Oettinger stopped.

The Oilers winger is still chasing his first point of the season and his 400th career point despite averaging 19:25 of ice time in the club's opening five games and spending 19:39 of total time on the power play this season so far. Over half of his career points have come in an Oilers uniform, having recorded 214 points (117G, 97A) in 240 games with Edmonton.

McDavid would have his own chance to break the early deadlock after picking up a rebound off Evan Bouchard's point shot and rounding traffic in front to force Oettinger into a smart blocker save with nearly eight minutes left in the period. The Dallas netminder was making his first start on home ice since signing a mammoth eight-year, $66-million ($8.25 million AAV) contract to solidify the American as one of the League's elite netminders.

With 1:14 left in the period, the Oilers took to their first power play with Jamie Benn in the box for hooking but were unable to capitalize before the intermission.

SECOND PERIOD

Leon Draisaitl just missed wide with his one-timer at the end of Edmonton's carry-over power play before another opportunity later in the period also went unanswered to drop the Oilers to 1-for-15 (6.7 percent) with the man advantage this season.

"I thought we played really well five-on-five and would've liked more on those power plays, and then they scored on their power play," Hyman said. "So I thought we played really well for those two periods there and couldn't get one by them."

Dallas defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin made the biggest save for the Stars in the middle frame by high-sticking a puck away from danger after it looked like a shot from Nugent-Hopkins that was pushed into the air by Oettinger would go over the goaltender and into the back of the net, but the Russian made the critical intervention.

In the period's second half, Jason Robertson almost caught Stuart Skinner off guard with a wrap-around that the Edmonton-born netminder got to in time to keep it scoreless. Roope Hintz looked to have stolen the puck off Ty Emberson on an exchange of the puck with Skinner minutes later behind the Oilers net, getting the chance to wrap it into the empty cage, but the Finnish forward pushed the skates out from underneath Emberson for a tripping penalty.

The Stars were starting to find their stride in the middle frame with nine total shots and would ultimately make quick work of their first power play in the final minute of the stanza.

"We just couldn't get the puck in the net and we had two power play opportunities and some chances," Knoblauch said. "They didn't go in, and then, they get their power play and they score right away. That was a big turning point in the game."

Defenceman Troy Stecher was called for tripping after taking down Jason Robertson with his right skate, and on the ensuing faceoff that was won back to Matt Duchene by Hintz, the 33-year-old wired a wrist shot over the glove of Skinner to make it 1-0 Stars with 26 seconds on the clock.

The Oilers were 1-2-0 this season when trailing after two periods of play, with both of their wins coming in games in which they've faced a deficit.

THIRD PERIOD

The top line of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman strung together a tic-tac-toe passing play early in the third period that created a look for Hyman in front that he tried to put far side on Oettinger, but the winger didn't do enough to make it harder for the goalie with his shot along the ice that was kicked out with the left pad.

"I think we're pretty process-oriented, so we keep going here," Hyman said. "I think if we keep getting those chances around the net, they're going to eventually fall, so you can't get frustrated."

Forward Vasily Podkolzin and his fourth linemates Derek Ryan and Corey Perry had a few hard-working shifts to give the Oilers a spark, but the Stars shone through with two goals in the final 10 minutes to take control.

Mason Marchment got loose on the left for a partial breakaway where he battled all the way to the net with Evan Bouchard, leading to the forward shovelling the puck into the middle for Duchene to intercept and tap past Skinner for the 2-0 lead with his second goal of the game.

Just 1:10 later, Logan Stankoven picked out Roope Hintz from behind the net to fire Dallas into a three-goal lead, with Jason Robertson getting the secondary helper to make Edmonton's comeback look uncertain with 6:44 remaining in regulation.

With their net empty, Draisaitl spoiled the shutout for Jake Oettinger after Nugent-Hopkins chipped it to the German in the left circle for a one-timer that squeezed through at the near post, but a Robertson empty-netter was the final action in a 4-1 defeat for the Blue & Orange against last season's playoff rivals.