The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their Western Conference Finals matchup against the Dallas Stars with a double-overtime 3-2 victory thanks to a late goal scored by franchise superstar Connor McDavid.
It took both teams more than 80 minutes of playing time to settle the Game 1 outcome as McDavid found the net 32 seconds into the second extra period to put the Oilers ahead one final time on Thursday, May 23.
McDavid jumped on TNT’s postgame coverage of the game and jokingly apologized for keeping folks up late in the night while waiting for a team to score the game-winning goal.
“Apologies to everyone for keeping everyone up a little bit longer,” McDavid told the TNT panel after Edmonton’s Game 1 win on May 23.
The game, which started at 2:30 AM Eastern Time on May 23, lasted until the wee hours of May 24. By the time McDavid scored the final goal in 2OT, the clock had already gone past 12:20 AM E.T.
Jake Oettinger‘s Miraculous Save Prevented Oilers’ Early Win
Although McDavid’s “apologies” can be understood as a bit of a joking tone following a win, the truth is that McDavid could have ended the game earlier than he did in the first overtime period.
Stars netminder Jake Oettinger had the save of a lifetime with a little over five minutes left in that period, robbing McDavid and the Oilers from an “early” win and keeping the game going and Dallas alive for another six minutes, as fate would have it.
Speaking to the TNT panel, McDavid said that the shot “Should’ve gone in, has to go in.” McDavid saluted Oettinger for his effort, however, calling him “a good goalie” and adding “he scrambles to make good plays.”
Added McDavid: “But I mean, it has to go in.”
The Edmonton Oilers Pulled Off the Upset
Although it took them 60 minutes of regulation play, a full 20-minute overtime, and 32 seconds into the second extra period, the Oilers emerged victorious from Game 1 against the favorite Dallas Stars.
The Stars had a man-advantage game to forget through the first three periods of play, failing to capitalize on any of their three power-play sequences. Then, in overtime, Connor McDavid was called for a high-stick penalty sending him to the box for four minutes. The Stars, once again, couldn’t take advantage.
Tyler Seguin scored the two Stars goals on the day sandwiching the second intermission after the Oilers took a 2-0 lead with goals scored by Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman through the first five minutes of the second frame.
No team scored in the first period of play as both goalies stopped all shots they saw through 20 minutes. When all was said and done, Oettinger finished with 35 saves and Oilers’ Stuart Skinner blocked 31 shots.
“It was nice to score in overtime. A big goal, great play by [Bouchard] as usual,” McDavid told reporters after the game, via NHL.com. “You’ve got to win tight games. We’re down to the final four teams.
“You don’t get to the final four without being a great team, so all four teams are solid. Dallas is a great team. It’s going to be tight hockey.”
The Stars entered the series as the favorites to win the Western Conference but now that they have lost home-ice advantage, MoneyPuck gives them the lowest odds (28.5%) to make it to the Stanley Cup Final among all four teams still in contention.
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