Oilers-Stars takeaways: Unexpected heroes help Edmonton get even

The Edmonton Oilers were able to get even in the Western Conference Finals on Friday night with a 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars. The series now shifts back to Edmonton with the series tied, 1-1. Here are some key takeaways from the Oilers' big win.

The good version of Stuart Skinner showed up in Game 2

Goaltending is consistently one of the biggest question marks for the Oilers, especially when they have to lean on Stuart Skinner. 

At times, he can be really good. At other times, he can be their biggest Achilles heel. They have seen both versions this postseason when he has played, and on Friday night, they got the good version.

Skinner stopped all 25 shots he faced in the win to record his third shutout of the playoffs. The fact he has had three shutouts already is a pretty stunning development given that he has only played in seven games, and was awful in his first three appearances of the playoffs, ultimately costing him his starting job to Calvin Pickard. 

He was thrown back into action when Pickard was injured in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

It's really remarkable the extremes that Skinner has had in his performance in these playoffs. 

He has the three shutouts. But in his other four appearances, he has allowed at least four goals and had a save percentage of .833 or worse in all of them. 

He's either been great or unplayable with no middle ground. It certainly keeps things interesting.

Depth scoring comes through Oilers

The Oilers know they are usually going to get offense from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 

The question is whether or not they will get enough offense from their depth players to help complement them. 

On Friday, they did as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor Brown and Brett Kulak provided the offense in the win, with McDavid and Draisaitl only accounting for two assists (combined) in the win. 

It might not seem like a big deal, but one of the Oilers' biggest issues during the McDavid-Draisaitl era has been finding enough offense when their two superstars are not doing it all. For too many years, the Oilers would only go as far as McDavid and Draisaitl could drag them every night. As good as those two are, that's not always a great recipe for long-term success. Sometimes they are not going to dominate and take over a game. You have to have some other players who can step up in those instances and contribute. 

Will Darnell Nurse face any discipline?

The big sub-plot from Friday's game came early in the third period when Stars forward Roope Hintz had to leave the game, unable to put any weight on his ankle, after taking a nasty slash from Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.