PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Stars

The Edmonton Oilers will face the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday afternoon in a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Final.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 2:00 pm MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck-drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

DALLAS, TX – Let’s remind ourselves how the West was won.

The Edmonton Oilers trailed the Dallas Stars two games to one in the 2024 Western Conference Final, but the Blue & Orange rattled off three straight victories against the Victory Green to condemn their historic rivals to defeat and send themselves to the club’s first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years.

An exceptional Stuart Skinner stopped 72-of-76 shots over the final three games – including 32 of 33 in Game 6 on home ice – as they were able to come away with the 2-1 victory in Game 6 despite a 33-10 shot disadvantage.

Connor McDavid scored a mystifying goal by toe-dragging one of the League's best defencemen in Miro Heiskanen before backhanding it past elite netminder Jake Oettinger, and Zach Hyman added the other goal on the man advantage to complete a 2-for-2 evening for the Oilers power play.

During a late rally from the Stars in the third period, the Edmonton-born netminder and the entire fanbase in Oil Country seemingly willed their side over the finish line in the final four minutes of regulation, with every person inside Rogers Place on their feet for the final stretch to cheer as their team claimed the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as Western Conference Champions.

The banner will live in the rafters of Rogers Place forever, and while they weren’t able to lift the trophy that they’d truly hoped for last season, it was an unforgettable series and a night that will be eternally remembered by those who witnessed it.

Dallas has different recollections of the whole experience. After losing in Round 3 for the second straight year, the Stars also have a trip to the Cup Final during the bubble season of 2019-20 that’s painfully lodged in the memories of both their fans and players who were there in the dressing room for each heartbreak.

Current Oilers forwards Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry were part of the Cup defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning inside the bubble at Rogers Place, but names like Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Jake Oettinger have been there for every one of those painful losses.

Both the Stars and Oilers will be using last year’s disappointment to fuel new runs to the Final as they prepare to meet at American Airlines Center on Saturday afternoon in an early test for each of the Western Conference powerhouses.

• PROJECTED LINEUP: Janmark to fill top-six role against Stars

“Both teams remember kind of how the series went. It was a hard series from both sides and we were just able to get on the other side of it,” Stuart Skinner said following Friday’s practice in Dallas.

“But I think for them, they're going to come out hard and I would expect us to do the same just because you know what type of game it's going to be. Dallas is a very hard-working team. They always are with the way that they battle and compete. We're definitely going to have to elevate our game against them.”

Dallas has started the campaign hot with a 4-1-0 record despite a 3-2 loss to the Capitals in Washington on Thursday night.

Standout 21-year-old centres Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston are tied for the team lead with Mason Marchment after amassing five points in their first five games, and goaltender Jake Oettinger is 3-0-0 with a new eight-year, $66-million in tow that the 25-year-old American signed earlier this week to cement himself as one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL.

After starting 0-3-0, the Oilers have surged to two straight victories with a pair of character wins over Philadelphia and Nashville that helped offset some frustrations from a slow start to their 2024-25 regular-season schedule. Brett Kulak notched two goals – including an empty-netter – for his first-career two-goal game in a 4-2 victory over the Predators, while Jeff Skinner and Connor McDavid also found the scoresheet.

Saturday afternoon will be a high-value clash for the Oilers against one of the League's top teams as they look to carry forward their momentum into a rematch of the 2024 WCF.

Both these teams have aspirations of going further than their respective top-four and top-two finishes last season, and this weekend's tilt at American Airlines Center will be a great measuring stick for each of their coaching staffs in understanding how they size up against another one of the Western Conference's top contenders.

"It's early in the season, and we have high expectations. They also have high expectations," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "So anytime you play against the better teams, you get excited and you want to evaluate your game and how you're doing. What better way to do that than matching up against another top team? Dallas definitely is a very good hockey team and it'll be a good challenge for us."

Stuart Skinner, who's set to return to the crease on Saturday after watching Calvin Pickard backstop the Oilers to victory against Nashville with 25 saves, says he isn't resting on his performance versus Dallas last year in the WCF and doesn't want to let that experience prevent him from focusing on a completely new challenge this year.

"It can get you into trouble if you think you kind of know what's gonna happen," the netminder said. "So trying to be in the moment and realize that they got incredible players. They have new guys on the team, too, so it will be different. They obviously are on a hot start, and we're trying to find our way, so it'll be a really good test for us to find our game in the midst of playing a really good hockey team."

Coach Knoblauch hopes to see his side's power play begin clicking at their expected high level after operating at 7.7 percent (1-for-13) in their opening five games to sit fifth overall in the NHL standings. Dallas hasn't fared much better, lying one spot below the Oilers with only one goal on 17 opportunities (5.9 percent)

The bench boss has seen the Oilers power play look a bit disconnected in the early going, but believes there will come a point where one goal opens the floodgates.

"The last couple of games, I think a lot of it's just not being able to execute," he said. "They've been together so long. There are always stretches where the power play – even the year they set the record at 32 percent – would have bad stretches, but right now, I just see everyone just being out of sync a little bit, maybe overpassing and not getting that good quality shot.

"Lately, Bouch has been firing away. The other teams have been doing a great job blocking, but I think this team, with its individuals, when they get a point or two, they feel more confident. When that unit gets one or two, they're going to feel a little more confident and things will be rolling a lot better."