EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers appeared to handily win Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, posting a wide 6-1 margin to take a 2-1 series lead. But looks can be deceiving.
The Oilers were actually outplayed for stretches by a more urgent Stars team, but Dallas was repeatedly stifled by another sensational performance from Stuart Skinner.
Edmonton's netminder stole the show in Game 3 with a 33-save showing that lifted the Oilers to a second straight win. It's all part of a superb recent run for Skinner, who's trying to stay even-keeled in the face of his own triumphs.
"It's ebbs and flows," he said of being dialed in. "You can feel it right away. Sometimes you don't feel it right away. I wish I felt it all the time. But that's just something that kind of comes with it. For myself, it's coming out of last game, too. I felt really good. So just trying my best to keep that going."
Skinner has reason to be cautiously optimistic. This has, after all, been a roller-coaster postseason for him. Skinner was replaced by Calvin Pickard as Edmonton's starter during its first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings after giving up 11 goals in two games to put the Oilers in a 2-0 deficit. Pickard backstopped the Oilers to six straight wins from there, closing out the Kings and taking the first two games over the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. But Pickard was injured in Game 2 against the Golden Knights, putting Skinner back in the starter's role. He has run with it since, recording three shutouts in his past five games, including a 3-0 win over Dallas in Game 2 on Friday.
But Skinner's finest performance to date was in Game 3. Dallas pressed Edmonton hard throughout Sunday's game, particularly in the second period, and it was Skinner who ensured Edmonton's offensive gains weren't for nothing.
The Oilers had scored first with a pair of goals just 36 seconds apart late in the first period that put Edmonton up 2-0 through 20 minutes, but Dallas' response was scorching.
The Stars turned up the tempo by outshooting Edmonton 21-7 in the middle frame -- and 34-24 for the game -- leaving Skinner to hold the Stars at bay while giving Edmonton an opportunity to stay out front.
"They brought a ton of speed," Skinner said of the second period. "They got a lot of O-zone time, got some good chances. At that point we're just trying to try to keep things at zero. We knew that was going to happen. They were down 2-0 at that point. So, you knew that they were going to come out hard and give everything that they had. They definitely did that. They were definitely the better team in the second period. And we knew that going into the third, so we just had to reset, and we battled it out."
Dallas entered Sunday with a 5-0 record after a loss in this postseason. And the Stars were having perhaps their best first period of the series Sunday even before elevating higher in the second. But Edmonton got a break -- before breaking the game open.
The Oilers were exiting their zone when defenseman Brett Kulak's clearing attempt went over the glass, initiating a conversation among officials. No penalty was called for delay of game, and the Oilers' next shift was a fire starter.
Edmonton pounced on the Stars in their end, and trailing defenseman Evan Bouchard fired a shot off the rush past a screened Jake Oettinger to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Only 36 seconds later, Connor McDavid took off on a 3-on-1 and finished a give-and-go play with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- who also assisted on Bouchard's strike -- to spot Edmonton a 2-0 lead.
While the Oilers' offense was rolling, Dallas was down a key player of its own: center Roope Hintz was ruled out of Game 3 because of a lower-body injury (and is listed as day-to-day going forward). He left in the third period of Game 2 after a slash from Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. Hintz was able to travel with Dallas to Edmonton and participated in warmups ahead of Game 3 but left early after speaking with a trainer, leaving Stars coach Peter DeBoer to elevate Jason Robertson onto the Stars' top line with Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund, while Oskar Back checked into a fourth-line slot.
That unit was among the Stars' best all night, generating some terrific chances that Skinner had to be sharp on. Dallas hasn't been the same scoring threat at 5-on-5 that it has been on special teams in this series, though, and it showed again in Game 3. The Stars have only three 5-on-5 goals in the conference finals so far and only 23 even-strength goals in 16 postseason games. But the Stars lead the postseason field with 15 power-play goals.
Defenseman Lian Bichsel did finally beat Skinner with his first career playoff goal, scoring from the slot in the final minutes of the second period to cut Edmonton's lead to 2-1. It was the only blemish on Skinner's start, and his teammates appreciated how solid he was as the Stars attempted to pile on.
"I thought we had a bit of a dip," Nugent-Hopkins said. "They had a bit of a push in the second. We knew it was going to happen. [Skinner] stepped up big-time for us, made some big saves, and you need your goalie to do that for you. And he definitely stepped up for us."
Skinner remained the difference for Edmonton, though, as Dallas kept pressing against a suddenly listless Oilers group. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch had to put his lines in a blender by the end of the second after Connor Brown left the game following a high hit from Alexander Petrovic.
Knobloch was searching for a spark, and it worked. McDavid scored again with just 18 seconds left in the second, shooting far side to the upper left corner.
"The third goal is a backbreaker at the end of the second period," DeBoer said. "I loved our game to that point. We were carrying momentum, we were doing a lot of good things. They get that goal, and it bleeds into the third. There was building blocks there for us to start winning some of these games."
Dallas kept coming in the third but again, when the Stars couldn't convert their opportunities, the Oilers found way to convert theirs. This time, it was Skinner stoning Tyler Seguin at one end of the ice only for Dallas to see Zach Hyman beat Oettinger on the Oilers' next rush.
"The way we play defensively impacts the goaltending so much," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We obviously need to be sharp in front of him, give him every chance to make the easy saves. And then sometimes he needs to step up and make the big ones, and he's been doing that. He wants to perform for us, and we see him compete every day."
Hyman grabbed another goal in the third period, going high glove on Oettinger to ice Edmonton's victory. John Klingberg added more insurance with the Oilers' sixth goal.
Now, the Oilers have a chance to tilt the series further in their favor in Game 4 on Tuesday. That's when Skinner can continue rewriting what has been one wild postseason chapter after another. Knoblauch said he isn't the least bit surprised at how Skinner has rebounded -- and expected he would stay hot.
"I was so impressed [when I came here] that when he did have a bad game, how well he responded right away," Knoblauch said. "And that's not easy for any player, especially a goalie. I think he's done a really good job. I'm just impressed with how well he manages the expectations playing in front of a good team, and when we do need, he comes up tonight, there was a lot of work for him. I think he was very, very solid."