The Dallas Stars mounted an incredible comeback on Wednesday night to take a 1-0 lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals.
Dallas opened Game 1 slowly after allowing the Oilers to take an early 1-0 lead in the first period, though a goal in the final minutes of the period sent the teams into the intermission tied.
Edmonton quickly grabbed control of this game in the second period, scoring two goals to take a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.
Then, the momentum of the game completely shifted.
Dallas opened the third period and almost immediately scored a power-play goal to cut the lead. Just minutes later, another power-play goal tied the game at 3-3.
The power play scoring onslaught did not stop there.
After Dallas tied the game, Oilers forward Evander Kane was sent into the penalty box for a high stick, allowing the Stars to score yet another goal and take a commanding 4-3 lead with 14 minutes left in the period.
Dallas continued to play aggressively and scored two additional goals to cap off the 5-0 third period, giving the Stars a dominant 6-3 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Stars were led in this matchup by forward Tyler Seguin and defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who each scored one goal and one assist to help lead the team to victory.
Seguin said that this team’s “calmness” has allowed them to make multiple comebacks in recent years, pointing out that no one ever believes they are completely out of a game.
“I’ve seen it over the last few years, and I don’t know where it kind of really started, but we have a lot of belief in us. We never fully think we’re out of the game. I think the message right now for all of us is: It’s pretty cool to be here three years in a row, but you don’t get to be here four, five years in a row. So you’ve got to find different ways on different nights. I think the message was: ‘We’ve got to respond right now, ’” he said, according to NHL.com.
Stars coach Pete DeBoer applauded the team after the game and said Heiskanen has been a “game changer” since returning from injury in the last series.
“He changes our team. And we survived the first round and a half without him. But he’s our difference-maker for us,” he explained, per NHL.com.
Dallas will now look to carry this momentum into their next matchup in Game 2, scheduled for Friday at American Airlines Center.