The good news is that the Stars have climbed out before, hard as it might be. Four times in the past two seasons, they have rebounded from a Game 1 loss to win a series.
They lost the first two games to Vegas in the first round this season, and they rallied to win in seven games. They lost Game 1 in overtime against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, and they won in six.
“Just a Game 1, right?” forward Evgenii Dadonov said. “Tomorrow we have to forget about it and just move on.”
This was DeBoer’s message this time:
“In a perfect world, we’d like to win Game 1,” DeBoer said. “We’d like to win every series four straight too. It just doesn’t happen. I think the main thing is, you’ve got to find a way to survive and move on.
“So, you know, we’ve got to park this game. We’ve been in this situation before. We’re the best road team in the League. I’m not as concerned about that. I think we need to find another level in our own game, and the wins will take care of themselves.”
It’s true that Edmonton’s top players made an impact. Connor McDavid scored the winner 32 seconds into the second overtime, after Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman scored in regulation. But it’s not like they dominated.
The bounces and breaks went back and forth. Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the second period after a shot bounced off Dallas defenseman Esa Lindell right to him. Seguin tied it 2-2 with 3:23 remaining in regulation after a shot bounced off Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse right to him.
Robertson came within inches of winning it in the first overtime when he hit those two posts. So did McDavid, when he had an eternity to deposit the puck in an open net.
Defenseman Chris Tanev and goalie Jake Oettinger each stretched out his stick to keep the puck out of the net.
