PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 3)

The Edmonton Oilers return to Rogers Place for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada at 6:30 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

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Game previews during the 2024 Oilers playoffs are presented by Pizza 73 🍕

PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars (Game 3)

EDMONTON, AB – Over to you, Oil Country.

The Edmonton Oilers will have the strength of their home crowd behind them inside Rogers Place and around ICE District on Monday night when they host the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.

We’ve already seen Oilers fans’ excitement reach ridiculous levels in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Edmonton’s roster can attest to from having experienced the energy inside Rogers Place throughout the 2024 postseason while earning a 4-2 record over six home games. Almost every single one of them – fans and players alike – can remember what it was like the last time they got this far in 2022, and this year's run already has a feeling about it.

Outside the rink, players are seeing first-hand – both on off-day and game days – the kind of support they have in this city, making it easy for them to find that extra gear with the backing of their fervent fanbase helping drive them towards their final goal of lifting the Stanley Cup.

“This time of year, it’s just an amazing place to play,” Derek Ryan said. “I think everyone on our team knows that. Everyone that's played in Edmonton or against us knows it. You see people outside when you're getting warmed up. You can see through the windows and it's just an amazing environment. You drive around the city and the flags are everywhere.”

“I go to the grocery store and people are coming up to me and thanking me and being appreciative and supportive, and it's just a great place to play.”

The Oilers are looking to tap into that energy reservoir again on Monday, having already reached a better mark than they did the last time they were in the Conference Final in 2022, which ended in a four-game sweep to the eventual Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.

By earning a split of Games 1 & 2, Edmonton has taken home-ice advantage away from Dallas in what's essentially become a best-of-five series to decide who goes on to the Stanley Cup Final.

Now, it’s Oil Country’s turn to show how that can be used in their team’s favour.

“I think our mentality is usually to keep it the same,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “It's a little more fun when your atmosphere is cheering for you and the crowd is behind you. But I thought it was a great atmosphere these two games in Dallas, so you can get some energy even from the opposing atmosphere when it's that loud.

“We're excited to get back home, and as far as a game plan, it's going to be the same. We want a simple start to kind of get our legs into it and get the home crowd behind us.”

The Oilers began Game 2 on Saturday how they wanted to by building a 16-5 shot advantage in the opening frame, but they couldn't turn that up-tempo start into an advantage when Connor Brown's first of the playoffs that came 44 seconds after Jamie Benn's opening goal went down as Edmonton's only chance of many that they capitalized on in the opening 20 minutes.

Dallas began to respond over a scoreless middle stanza before Mason Marchment's tip-in less than four minutes into the final frame demonstrated just how slim the margin for error can be when you're this deep into the playoffs.

The forward's goal proved to be the difference to secure the Stars a split of the series after the Oilers' offence came up empty in the final three-quarters of the period against a committed Dallas defence willing to block shots and win battles.

Despite the defeat, if you'd have told Edmonton's players and coaches before the series began that a split on the road in the first two games was available, they would've taken it. But when you win the first game and come into the next optimistic about your chances to take a two-game lead, it's natural to feel disappointed you couldn't get it done.

However, it's not difficult for the Oilers to find the positives in the position they find themselves in as they return to Rogers Place for Games 3 & 4 with home-ice advantage on their side and the series with the Stars knotted at one game apiece.

"We're happy with the split," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Obviously, you'd rather take two, but going into a good team's building, it's going to be hard-fought. I thought they had a pushback [Saturday] that we expected. We probably could've played a little bit better, but overall, I think our game was alright. If anything, we gave them some rush chances that we can correct, but we've got a chance here. We're 1-1 going home, so we should be excited."

"We're in a good position," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch added. "Before the series started, if you said we were going to be 1-1 coming out of this building, we would've been happy. But when you win the first one, you always want to win the next one. It's nice that we're going back to Edmonton where we'll be in front of our crowd, but it's going to be tough. No matter if it's on the road or at home, we'll just carry on."

Edmonton's tough task of besting the Stars begins with knowing how the little details can mean the difference when you're at this stage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, knowing that any let-off could result in the slimmest of margins being exploited by Dallas like they were during the third period of Game 2 on Saturday.

"I think for us, it's getting into the o-zone and grinding them down a little bit more," defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "I think we probably opened it up a little bit too much and got too much into the transition game, and those last 10-to-15 minutes, for us to have more success, you want to get into the ozone, just sustain the pressure and create and generate as much offence as you can."

The Oilers also know they can do more to earn more power plays, having only drawn three penalties over the first two games while their penalty kill has continued their exceptional streak to 20 straight kills and 38-for-41 in the playoffs (92.7 percent). All nine goals in the series have been scored at even strength, with the Oilers' power play riding a five-game goalless streak after scoring at least once in their previous nine games.

"I think we can probably continue to move our feet in the offensive zone," Derek Ryan said. "I think they're using their sticks a lot, getting away with a little bit more there, but that's kind of out of our control. It's also playoff hockey, so that's just the way it is. I think we're doing the same things that we've been doing in previous series' to try and draw penalties, and you can't really look to draw more penalties. Just play the way you're playing and hopefully, you get the calls."

After forward Adam Henrique took warmups ahead of Game 2 but wasn't able to suit up, the Oilers will continue to go on a day-by-day basis with their trade-deadline acquisition in hopes of getting him back and from his injury in the lineup to provide some necessary depth scoring.

"He's day-to-day, and we had him out there for warm-up last game and he's very close, and Adam hopefully will be ready for Game 3 or 4," Knoblauch said. "I think when he does come in, he'll provide us some secondary scoring, he's key on face-offs, and is just good defensively. He's a good 200-foot player and that's what we wanted from him. That's why we traded for him. When he is ready, I think it'll be a big addition for our team."