Stars outlast feisty, injury-riddled Oilers in OT
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Dallas Stars did what they always do to the Edmonton Oilers.
Broke their hearts.
In one of the surest things in the NHL, the Stars continued their dominance of Edmonton with a 3-2 overtime victory at Rexall Place.
Jaromir Jagr scored the winner 1:46 into the extra period as the Stars improved to 54-12-7 against Edmonton since moving to Dallas.
With the Oilers down three of their top four centers, this one looked over before the puck even dropped.
And if it wasn't bad enough that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger were all out with injuries, one of their few remaining centers, Anton Lander, left on crutches after injuring his foot.
"We've had some tough luck around here with the injuries, but we're not going to look at it as an excuse," Justin Schultz said. "Everyone here is capable of playing big minutes. You have to find a way to win, and we didn't."
Edmonton still somehow managed to get out of the first period tied 0-0 and actually scored first on Ales Hemsky's fourth of the season at 3:21 of the second period.
But Dallas, as it so often does against Edmonton, turned the momentum back in its favor. Jamie Benn tied it on a deft feed from the ageless Jagr at 13:24, and Derek Roy made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 18:44. Replays showed the puck was actually offside at the blue line moments before the goal.
The Oilers tied it 2-2 on a point shot from Schultz with 12 minutes left in the third.
But Dallas always wins, and the Stars did again when Jagr scored in overtime.
"It's tough losing when you get so close and don't get rewarded," Edmonton's Jordan Eberle said. "We found a way to tie it, but we have to find a way to win it."
Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan knew the Oilers would be tough, even with the injuries.
"You start to get paranoid," he said. "You're glad (Edmonton is depleted) in one way, but you know that other guys step up. We were in that situation a couple of weeks ago, where we didn't have Jaromir Jagr, Jamie Benn or Derek Roy in our lineup, we had Ray Whitney playing on one leg, and we eked out some victories."
The key for Dallas on Wednesday was keeping it a close checking game, not letting Edmonton spread its offensive wings.
"You don't want to get into a track meet," Gulutzan said. "If you want to go back and forth with Edmonton you might as well just roll the dice. You have to play in their zone, you have to win the blue lines and you have to be above pucks because they have lethal weapons and speed. If you want to get into an open game with them, it can spell trouble for you."
NOTES: The Oilers sent D Theo Peckham down to Oklahoma City of the American League on a conditioning stint. He came to camp out of shape and hasn't played a game all year. ... Oilers C Shawn Horcoff's crushed knuckle will cost him about six weeks, but D Marc Fistric (back) is day to day. ... At 6 feet 7, Jamie Oleksiak is the tallest player to ever play for the Stars. ... The Stars played 10 times in the first 17 days of the season, and a league-leading eight of them were one-goal games. ... The Oilers are tied for third in the NHL with six one-goal games (3-1-2). ... The Stars have not lost a game in regulation when leading after two periods since Oct. 31, 2009 (77 games). They are 69-0-8 in that span. ... Oilers C Sam Gagner extended his point streak to 10 games with a second-period assist.
