EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers put on a show for their home crowd Sunday night at Rogers Place, skating to a decisive 6-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. The win gives the Oilers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and full momentum heading into Game 4 on Tuesday.
Leading the charge once again was Connor McDavid, who scored twice and added flair to every shift. Zach Hyman matched him with two goals and an assist, continuing his standout postseason. Evan Bouchard added a goal and an assist, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the unsung engine of the night with three assists.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner stood tall when it mattered most, stopping 36 of 37 shots, particularly during a second-period surge by Dallas where Edmonton was outshot 22-7.
“We bent but didn’t break,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “When your best players show up in big moments, this is the result.”
Quick Strike Offense Fuels First Period Surge
After a tense opening frame, Bouchard broke the ice at 14:02 with a one-timer past Jake Oettinger off a clean setup from Nugent-Hopkins. Just 36 seconds later, McDavid made it 2-0, finishing off a give-and-go on a 3-on-1 rush with a roofed shot over Oettinger’s glove.
Though Jason Robertson would cut the lead in half for Dallas late in the second, McDavid answered back before intermission, beating Oettinger blocker-side for a backbreaking 3-1 lead.
Third Period All Oilers
Hyman took over in the final frame. First, he broke free on a breakaway and scored glove side to make it 4-1. Later, he cashed in on a slick pass from Evander Kane after forcing a turnover, flipping a perfect shot over a sprawling defender and goaltender.
John Klingberg closed out the scoring with a power-play tally at 17:40.
Injury Watch
Oilers forward Connor Brown left the game in the second period after taking a hard hit along the boards from Dallas defenceman Alexander Petrovic. No immediate update was provided.
What’s Next?
📍 Game 4
🗓️ Tuesday, May 28
🕗 8:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM MT
📺 CBC, SN, TVAS, ESPN, ESPN+
