The Dallas Stars are on the verge of taking a two-game lead in the Western Conference Final over Edmonton, something they did not do in last year's Conference Final matchup. The Stars were up 2-1 in the series before Edmonton came rattled off three straight wins to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final. The Stars will look to tighten their grip on the series before they hit the road to Alberta.
Dallas kicked off Game 1 of the Western Conference Final by refusing to back down despite an early setback when Leon Draisaitl ripped a far-side wrist shot to get the Oilers on the board first. Dallas would answer back five minutes later when Tyler Seguin forced a turnover and raced down the ice on the breakaway to rip one past Stuart Skinner. The Oilers would score two in the second period to carry a 3-1 lead into the third period. The Dallas offense would explode in the third period with five goals en route to a 6-3 victory.
The pressure will be on the Stars on Friday to repeat their offensive outburst as they will seek to counter the potent Edmonton offense. Tyler Seguin is coming off a game in which he broke an 11-game goalless streak with a two-goal performance. The Stars will also look to continue their defensive showing of keeping Connor McDavid in check. Jake Oettinger will rely on his defense in front of him as he will attempt to weather the storm as the Oilers will fire off a flurry of shots to potentially tie up the series before it heads to Edmonton.
Friday's game kicks off at 7pm CDT and can be viewed on ESPN.
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