Three takeaways from Stars' 4-3 victory over Oilers

Dallas won a third consecutive game on Thursday night behind a 46-save performance from Scott Wedgewood.

DALLAS - The Stars improved to 7-1-1 on the season with a 4-3 win over the Oilers on Thursday night at Rogers Place.

Head coach Pete DeBoer's contingent has won three games in a row.

Here are three takeaways from the club's performance in Edmonton:

Workhorse between the pipes: The Oilers certainly kept goaltender Scott Wedgewood busy with 49 shots on goal, including 25 shots in the third period alone.

Wedgewood was up to the task, though, with a career-high 46-save effort, as starter Jake Oettinger was given a well-deserved break.

"Wedgewood came in and gave us exactly what we needed. We needed some energy tonight in a back-to-back, and he came in and gave us a big game, and I think the guys fed off that," said DeBoer. "We ran out of a little bit of gas down the stretch there, but grinded one out."

The veteran netminder made things interesting just under eight minutes into the first period when he caused a turnover behind his own net that resulted in a prime scoring opportunity for Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. 

The 31-year-old Brampton, ON native recovered, however, and made a highlight-reel sprawling stop to keep things scoreless.

"In this role, you’re going to get kind of these tough situations as a backup [playing the tail end of a back-to-back]. I’m here for a spark and some energy, and unfortunately I had to create it myself with that turnover and a kick save, but we went down and scored," said Wedgewood, referencing Matt Duchene's five-hole tally just a short time later. "When I’m in it, I’m going to give these guys everything I’ve got every night."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snpsGlC6rKE[/embed]

Wedgewood relished the opportunity to face the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in his first appearance since Oct. 26 against the Maple Leafs.

"I love going against the top players in the League. You’ve got those two, and even throughout their lineup they’ve got some talent," he added. "When you put your best against the best in the League, it’s always a fun challenge."

Still (very much) got it: At 39 years old, veteran Joe Pavelski continues to impress.

Pavelski had a goal and two assists versus the Oilers, including a picture-perfect helper on a tally by Roope Hintz in the third period that proved to be the game-winner.

"Just when he looks like the end might be coming up, he comes out and gets one and two tonight. He’s just an amazing athlete, and always in big moments, too. We’re in a back-to-back, you’d think he’d be the one guy that probably wouldn’t have an impact on the game based on his age, and he’s one of the best players out there, so that tells you the story," praised DeBoer. "He’s a driver and a motivator, he’s a guy the group rallies around, he’s a leader for us, he does it all."

Duchene, who joined the Stars over the summer, is already a big Pavelski fan.

He spoke glowingly about him during his postgame media availability.

"People say you’ve got to be fast to play in today’s game, and he’s a good guy that’s always been a pretty kind of middle-of-the-pack skater, but it doesn’t matter because he’s so smart. He knows how to get places and make plays. The pass he makes to Roope there is elite. That’s as good as it gets in this League," said Duchene. "He’s played the same style of game his whole career. He takes care of himself, he works hard, he loves the game, and he tries to get better all the time. That’s what it takes. You see a lot of guys at that age, and even younger, kind of shut off to loving the game, but he loves the game, and it’s great to see."

Unstoppable Roope: Like Pavelski, Hintz had a three-point night for Dallas.

The Finnish sniper currently leads the Stars in scoring with 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) in eight games.

There's no denying his chemistry with his linemates, especially Pavelski.

Hintz will be riding a three-game point streak into Saturday night's Western Canada road-trip finale against the Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. 

Puck drop is 9:00 p.m. CT.