The Dallas Stars on Thursday got a tying goal from Tyler Seguin late in regulation, then had a four-minute power play early in overtime in Game 1 of the NHL Western Conference Finals, but it was not enough to keep them from their seventh consecutive series-opening loss since 2022, with Edmonton captain Connor McDavid scoring 32 seconds into the second overtime to give the Oilers a 3-2 victory.
The opening-game losing streak includes all three Game 1s at home this post-season, with the Stars rebounding in the opening rounds this year by knocking out the past two Stanley Cup champions.
“In a perfect world we’d like to win Game 1. We’d like to win every series in four straight, too, but it doesn’t happen,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “The main thing is you’ve got to find a way to survive and move on. We’ve got to park this game. We’ve been in this situation before.”
Photo: AFP
Jason Robertson had a shot that hit off the post during the extended power play in overtime, which came after McDavid got a double-minor penalty for a high stick that left Matt Duchene with blood on his lip.
“Obviously, you’ve got to score, that double minor,” DeBoer said. “That’s probably the game right there.”
The Stars finished zero for five on the power play, including four shots on goal with a man advantage in overtime.
Photo: AFP
Seguin, who scored both goals for the Stars, had a long wrister just over six minutes into OT that goaltender Stuart Skinner swatted with his stick out of the air and into the crowd.
“I thought we played a good hockey game,” Seguin said. “If it was my choice we would have started two days earlier. It was nice to get a little break, but the break got a little long.”
Dallas had wrapped up their second-round series with a double-overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 on Friday last week.
The Stars came back to win that series after the Avalanche won the opener 4-3 in overtime. Dallas started this post-season by losing their first two games at home against the Vegas Golden Knights, last year’s Stanley Cup champions, before going seven games and then rolling right into the second round.
“I think we’ve had some Game 1s where we’ve really been feeling it out and laying a few eggs,” Seguin said.
“That wasn’t the case tonight. This was a little different. So yeah, lot of things to build off of,” he added.
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