In a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Final, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 5-4 at Rogers Place on Saturday (March 8).
Zach Hyman scored twice for the Oilers, who also got goals from Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown, and Connor McDavid. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 21 of the 25 shots he faced.
Related: Oilers Avoid Third Period Collapse, Defeat Stars 5-4
Jamie Benn, Mathew Dumba, and Wyatt Johnston tallied for Dallas, as did Mikko Rantanen, who was making his Stars debut after being acquired via trade on Friday (March 7). Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made 22 saves.
Edmonton, which beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime on Thursday (March 6), has now won back-to-back games for the first time in over a month. But coming off a dreadful stretch in which they lost six times in seven games, are the Oilers now truly back on track?
Oilers Almost Blow Massive Lead
The answer to the above question might have changed during the third period of Saturday’s game. Playing with an energy and spirit reminiscent of the 2024 Stanley Cup finalists, the Oilers dominated the first 40 minutes and took a 5-1 lead into the second intermission.
But Rantanen and Benn scored within 11 seconds of each other, at 5:06 and 5:17 of the third period, to cut Edmonton’s lead in half. Then Dumba beat Skinner to make the score 5-4 with 10:42 remaining, and suddenly it looked like the Oilers might blow a four-goal third-period lead for the first time in franchise history.
Fortunately, they didn’t. To their credit, the Oilers settled down after the Dumba goal and were able to hold their lead to the finish. But what could have been a statement victory for the Oilers against one of the NHL’s top teams ended up being another example of how this team can’t put together a consistent 60 minutes of good hockey.
Several Players Step Up for Oilers
That said, there were encouraging signs for the Oilers, who got a lot more of two things that got them within one victory of hockey’s holy grail last season: elite play from McDavid, and support scoring.
McDavid had his best performance with the Oilers in weeks, flying all over the ice and doing those things that only he can do. Most importantly, he found the back of the net, scoring a highlight-reel goal in the second period, in which he broke out of Edmonton’s zone, put the puck by Ilya Lyubushkin, then skated around the Stars blueliner and regathered the biscuit puck before backhanding it past Oettinger. The 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy winner also had an assist and finished with a plus-2 rating, ending a streak of nine consecutive games without a positive plus/minus.
Meanwhile, Hyman notched two goals in the first period alone, which was as many as the winger had scored in Edmonton’s previous 10 games combined. Arvidsson’s goal was his first in more than a month, and Brown hadn’t tallied at Rogers Place since Dec. 16 before scoring what proved to be the game-winner, late in the second period.
Edmonton centre Leon Draisaitl, who is running away with the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race and is one of the leading candidates for the Hart Trophy, finished the game with just one point, a secondary assist on Arvidsson’s goal. It was only the second time in Edmonton’s last 11 games that Draisaitl failed to score a goal.
The Oilers can’t rely on a single player every game, even one having a season as spectacular as Draisaitl. On Saturday, they showed what’s possible when the rest of the team carries their weight.
Oilers’ Newcomers Make Impact
Speaking of carrying weight, Jake Walman made a massive impression in his first game as an Oiler, just one day after being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks. The 6-foot-1, 218-pound defenceman was plus-3, which ranks among the highest ever ratings for a player in their Oilers debut.
He made a terrific stretch pass to set up Hyman for Edmonton’s second goal of the first period, which put the Oilers ahead to stay. But what really had fans talking was Walman’s textbook body check on Rantanen in the second period, which, speaking without hyperbole, might be the best hit by any Edmonton player in 2024-25.
The Oilers’ lack of physicality has been conspicuous right from the start of the season, and if his performance against Dallas was any indication, Walman may be exactly what this team needs. Ditto with winger Max Jones, who Edmonton acquired from the Boston Bruins earlier in the week. Jones had five hits in the first two periods on Saturday, tying for the third-most by any Oilers forward in a game this season. As a team, the Oilers had 22 hits, their sixth-most in 2024-25. Could it be that the newcomers’ physicality is proving infectious on the rest of the lineup?
Fans won’t have to wait long to see if the Oilers can carry the momentum from their modest win streak, as Edmonton begins a four-game road trip on Monday (March 10) with a stop at KeyBank Center to play the host Buffalo Sabres.
