Stars Rally for Stunning 6-3 Comeback Win Over Oilers

DALLAS, TX — The Dallas Stars made a dramatic comeback, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Wednesday at American Airlines Center. The Stars scored five goals, three of which were on power plays, in the third period.

Dallas coach Pete DeBoer expressed pride in his team’s resilience. “I didn’t feel we had played our best yet. If you are going to lose a game at this point in the year, you want to make sure the other team has to earn it,” he said. He noted the power-play performance was particularly satisfying after the struggles in last year’s playoffs.

The Oilers entered the third period with a 3-1 lead, aided by goals from Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Draisaitl opened the scoring at 10:19 in the first period, but Tyler Seguin equalized for Dallas later in the first.

“It felt good to beat a guy up the ice with some speed. It always feels good to score,” Seguin said after netting two goals in the match.

The comeback began 32 seconds into the third period when Miro Heiskanen scored on a power play, cutting the Oilers’ lead to 3-2. Dallas seized momentum, as Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene added power-play goals, bringing the score to 6-3 by the game’s end.

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch reflected on the penalties that shifted the game. “We let down our guard for five or six minutes. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said.

The Stars now lead the best-of-seven series 1-0, and Game 2 is set for Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET. Dallas aims to continue their strong playoff performance, having overcome major deficits in the previous rounds as well.

“We have to be better at killing penalties, it’s as simple as that,” said Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. “We did not do that enough tonight.”