Series wrap-up: It’s going to take more than Draisaitl and McDavid to beat the Stars

The two Oilers stars also combined to score the first goal of the series.

From McDavid, to Nurse, to Draisaitl… and boom :

Even in the second period, we saw the guys be really solid.

Draisaitl picked up two assists on his club’s two goals, while McDavid was complicit in the Oilers’ first goal of the period.

Moments after halftime, Draisaitl already had three points. And McDavid had two…

But that’s exactly when, with the score at 3-1, the Stars realized a few things.

I don’t know what was said on the bench, but it worked, because McDavid and Draisaitl had a tougher time after that.

And the Stars took advantage in the third period, scoring not once, not twice, not three times, not four times… but five times.

The first three were scored on the powerplay… and the Stars’ fourth of the period brought the score to 5-3.

Ah, and Esa Lindell completed the scoring in an empty net to put the final nail in the Oilers’ coffin.

So it comes back to what I was saying earlier.

Without the brilliance of McDavid and Draisaitl… the Oilers often find it difficult to be consistent. Which is normal, in a way, because the two guys have the ability to change a game on their own.

We’ve seen it before, after all. When Draisaitl and McDavid are in form at the same time… it’s dangerous.

You have to give the Stars credit because they were able to neutralize two of the best players in the world.

And clearly, that will be the key to their game plan between now and the end of the series if they want to go through to the next round.

It’s also worth noting that the rest of this series is likely to be really interesting, because at the end of game #1, we saw the two clubs giving each other some love.

And you guessed it: Corey Perry was at the heart of the scrum.

Great Perry:

Extension

– 15 players collected at least one point last night :

– Tonight, the Panthers and Hurricanes play the second game of their series.

The game will be presented in Carolina and kicks off at 8pm.