Edmonton Oilers Recap: Round 3, Game 3

The Edmonton Oilers return to Rogers Place for the third game of the third round after tying the series 1-1 at the American Airlines Centre. Game 2 ended with a 3-0 final score, Stuart Skinner recorded his third shutout in four starts. Roope Hintz, the top-line centerman for the Dallas Stars, was a game-time decision after taking a slash to the leg from Darnell Nurse on Friday night. It was then announced that he wouldn’t play. Nurse received a minor penalty for that play, the Department of Player Safety looked at it, and they determined it didn’t warrant a fine or suspension. The lineup for Edmonton stays the same.

First Period Summary: Both teams had solid scoring chances with some bodies around the nets and some deflections. Mikko Rantanen made a pass from behind the net to Jason Robertson, who took the shot, and Stuart Skinner made the save. It was also a physical period. Zach Hyman reached 100 hits and currently leads the Playoffs in that stat. Skinner made his best save of the period, coming across and stopping Colin Blackwell, receiving a cross-ice pass from Miro Heiskanen. Brett Kulak flipped the puck out of play, but the officials missed it, and it didn’t result in a Stars power play. Moments later, Evan Bouchard scores with a shot from the point, making the score 1-0 at 14:02. Thirty-six seconds later, Robertson’s stick gets stuck in Kulak’s skate, it leads to a 3v1 for Edmonton, and Connor McDavid capitalizes to make it 2-0. With two assists, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins joined Wayne Gretzky as the only Oiler to record a multi-point night in the first three games of a Conference Final. As the final seconds of the period are winding down, Kasperi Kapanen took a high-sticking penalty. The replay showed that he actually lifted Rantanen’s stick, and Rantanen got hit with his own stick. For the Stars, that wrong call makes up for the non-delay of game call. Edmonton will start the second period needing to kill off a 1:58 power play. The Oilers headed into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

Second Period Summary: The Oilers killed off the Stars’ power play to start the second period. Mikko Rantanen had three chances to score on the man advantage. His first chance hit the post, his second chance was blocked by Jake Walman, and his third chance was gloved by Stuart Skinner. Edmonton then had an odd man rush, Connor McDavid passed the puck to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the shot just hit the knob of Jake Oettinger’s stick. Zach Hyman went on a rush, it was a partial breakaway, and Cody Ceci made the diving play to prevent the scoring chance. Miro Heiskanen turned the puck over from his zone to the neutral zone, Evan Bouchard has a scoring chance, but Heiskanen got a stick on the shot and bailed out his own mistake. McDavid and Kasperi Kapanen had a 2v1 chance, but Kapanen didn’t connect on the pass. Corey Perry drew a tripping penalty on Lian Bichsel, putting Edmonton on their first powerplay. Leon Draisaitl then drew a penalty on Sam Steel, also for tripping. The Oilers didn’t capitalize on the 18 second 5v3, nor the 1:42 second 5v4. Colin Blackwell had a chance to score shorthanded, Evander Kane had a chance to score on a powerplay rush, neither capitalized. Bichsel takes a wrist shot from the point. The Stars had bodies in front, the puck hit Jason Robertson, and went through Skinner’s five-hole. It was a 2-1 game at that point. John Klingberg and Matt Duchene traded singular rushes and scoring chances. Both were stopped by Oettinger and Skinner. McDavid outskated Ceci heading into the offensive zone, passed the puck to Bouchard at the point, and then got it back. He sniped the puck past Oettinger and into the net with 18 seconds left. The Oilers headed into the second intermission with a 3-1 lead.

Third Period Summary: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Corey Perry started the third period on a line together. They nearly connected for a goal in the first 30 seconds of the period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins returned for the third period after not finishing the second period, due to a fall towards the boards. He had a rush chance, but Cody Ceci got his stick on it and stopped it. Connor Brown was out for the third period after taking a hit from Alex Petrovic in the second period. Nugent-Hopkins sent Zach Hyman on a breakaway after a wild scoring chance for the Stars didn’t find the back of the net. Hyman scored on the breakaway to make it 4-1. He’d get his second of the game afterwards, receiving a pass from Evander Kane in a 2v1 rush. That made the score 5-1. Vasily Podkolzin tripped up Thomas Harley, giving Dallas a power play. With 28 seconds left on that penalty, Harley then got penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct against Hyman. When the Oilers went on the man advantage, John Klingberg scored his first of the Playoffs. The game ended with a 6-1 final score, Edmonton now has a 2-1 lead in the series.