The Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Saturday to level the NHL’s Western Conference Final best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Dallas captain Jamie Benn put the Stars ahead at their American Airlines Center, scoring from a 2-on-1 situation at 3:39 of the first period.
But Edmonton responded instantly with Connor Brown scoring within 44 seconds.
Brown passed to Cody Ceci whose shot was blocked by Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger but Brown converted the rebound to make it 1-1.
Mason Marchment broke the tie when he redirected Ryan Suter’s shot from close range at 3:41 in the third period.
Esa Lindell, assisted by Benn, scored into an empty net from his own blue line in the final stages to complete the win.
“Obviously it was a tough start, they had a lot of shots in the first,” said Benn.
“But we play 60 minutes for a reason and the team showed a lot of resilience and the effort in the second and third was much better.
“Edmonton is a great team. Obviously coming off a tough seven game series against Vancouver, they are battle tested but I like how we responded tonight,” he added.
Game three is on Monday in Edmonton, and the Oilers captain Connor McDavid believes there is little to choose between the two teams.
“It was close all game long,” he said. “The margins are small, the difference is a little tip in front.
“They defend well, they do a good job of getting into lanes, passing lanes. These are two good teams,” he added.
On Sunday, the Florida Panthers host the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final game three with the series tied at 1-1.
