Talking points from Game 1 versus the Stars

The Edmonton Oilers played excellently in Game 1 versus the Dallas Stars and, despite letting a 2-0 lead slip, came away with the win.

Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman scored two goals early in the second period, but the Stars’ resilience showed as the game progressed. An unfortunate turnover from Brett Kulak led to Tyler Seguin’s first goal of the game, and then with a minute left in the third, Seguin scored his second, tying the game. Fortunately for the Oilers, this wasn’t going to be another blown game, with Connor McDavid scoring the overtime winner 32 seconds into the second extra frame.

The Oilers played a great road game, going 100% on the penalty kill and getting promising contributions from the bottom six, despite no goals from them. Additionally, the Oilers’ stars outshone Dallas’ top players, with Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Matt Duchene all having quiet nights.

Outside of the box score, there was much to talk about from Game 1, so let’s get into it.

Kris Knoblauch wants chaos

Kris Knoblauch has done many things right so far throughout the playoffs. The majority of his decisions have worked in his favour, such as switching the goaltenders, moving the defensive pairings around, and loading up the stars to win a game. However, last night in Game 1, the decision to reunite Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci midway through the second period was baffling.

Both players were having strong games with their starting partners, Brett Kulak and Vincent Desharnais, but once they found the ice together, chaos ensued. They played just under five minutes together and were outshot 5-1. If you didn’t know, you would have thought the two of them hadn’t touched the ice together before because it was pure chaos. It’s not clear exactly why Knoblauch opted for that, but thank goodness they survived.

Ryan McLeod

If you watched Oilersnation Everyday with Tyler Yaremchuk on Thursday, there was a great debate about whether Ryan McLeod should be taken out of the lineup at some point due to his lack of impact. In Games 6 and 7 versus the Vancouver Canucks, his lack of physicality resulted in two goals against, which also led to him being benched. Last night, McLeod played a more competitive overall game.

McLeod had three shots, which was the most since the final game of the season versus Colorado, played almost three minutes on the penalty kill, which was perfect, and his line generated five scoring chances. They were on the ice for a goal against; however, the two goals allowed last night were unfortunate. Overall, it was a good bounceback game for McLeod. While the offense still needs to come, last night felt like a stepping stone.

Stuart Skinner