Stars Defeat Oilers
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DALLAS — The Dallas Stars pounced on a costly Edmonton Oilers mistake late in the second period, resulting in the eventual game-winner by center Tyler Seguin, one of two goals for Seguin, as Dallas held on for a 3-2 victory Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
Edmonton couldn’t clear the puck from behind their goal and after Dallas right winger Patrick Eaves dug it out, Stars left winger and captain Jamie Benn fed Seguin in the high slot. Seguin beat Oilers goaltender Viktor Fasth with a wrist shot over his left shoulder with 2:18 left in the second.
Dallas led 3-1 after two and Edmonton made it a one-goal game when center Taylor Hall scored his 100th career goal early in the third, but the Oilers couldn’t find an equalizer.
“We played a smart third period,” Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said. “There really was only a bad shift after I called a timeout.”
Seguin also scored earlier in the second, beating Fasth with a backhand after a great pass from rookie defenseman John Klingberg from the Dallas zone as the Stars caught the Oilers on a line change.
“Obviously, I think my teammates, linemates set me up well,” Seguin said. “Things have been
clicking and I’ve been shooting the puck a bit more than I have than in previous years.”
The circumstances surrounding Seguin’s first goal was a sore spot for Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins.
“I don’t even know what to say about it,” Eakins said. “It’s mind numbing that at this level we would try to change there.”
Goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 35 shots for the Stars (9-9-4), who won their third straight.
Edmonton (6-14-2), which has now lost seven straight, got goals from center Boyd Gordon while shorthanded late in the first and Hall early in the third.
Dallas struck first when Klingberg delivered another highlight-reel goal, a slapshot from beyond the Edmonton blue line 12:49 into the game. Stars center Jason Spezza won a faceoff against Oilers center Leon Draisaitl on the left side of the neutral zone.
Klingberg gained possession on the right side and after taking several strides, launched a 74-foot blast that beat Fasth low on his glove side. It was Klingberg’s third goal in eight NHL games. Klingberg now has a five-game point streak.
With two minutes left in the first, Seguin almost converted from the right circle with the Stars on the power play. However, Seguin’s slapshot rang the near post.
However, the visitors answered late in the first when Gordon scored a shorthanded goal 30 seconds before intermission. Oilers defenseman Jeff Petry was trying to clear the puck from the Edmonton zone when Stars defenseman Trevor Daley failed to intercept near the Edmonton blue line.
Gordon got the puck just beyond the Dallas blue line and, after Lehtonen made a pad save on his initial effort, a wrist shot at close range, Gordon tapped in the carom for his fourth of the season.
Sandwiched between the Seguin’s pair in in the second was a disallowed goal by center Cody Eakin, who had apparently scored at 9:02 but saw his goal waved off after Stars center Ryan Garbutt pushed Petry into Fasth.
Hall’s goal, his eighth 5:59 into the third, made it 3-2. Hall knocked in a nifty backhand pass from right winger Jordan Eberle, beating Lehtonen with a snap to the far post.
“I’m very proud of Taylor Hall,” Eakins said. “He’s growing. He’s turning into a leader right in front of us. You could argue that he is the best left winger in the game.”
Eakin prevented a game-tying goal from center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 4:14 remaining when he cleared a shot that had gotten behind Lehtonen out of the Dallas crease.
Fasth stopped 31 shots, including denying Seguin’s bid for a hat trick with 1:45 remaining before leaving the ice with 25 seconds remaining.
Edmonton had one final chance with nine seconds remaining but left winger David Perron hit the crossbar on a wraparound.
