Zach Hyman had a pair of goals and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers won their second straight game, hanging on to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Saturday.
“We’ve been building,” Hyman said after the win. “The last couple of games, obviously, we haven’t been able to put it in. But I think today we were finally able to capitalize on some looks and everything looks better when you’re scoring, obviously.”
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and Viktor Arvidsson and Connor Brown also scored for the Oilers (37-22-4) who have won three of their last four, but were heaving a sigh of relief after gassing a 5-1 lead through 40 minutes.
Massive trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his Dallas debut and Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also responded with goals for the Stars (41-20-2), who had a four-game winning streak halted. Compounding the tough night for Dallas, Stars forward Roope Hintz took a puck to the face in the second period and did not return.
Stuart Skinner made 22 stops to collect the win in net for the Oilers, while Jake Oettinger recorded 22 saves in the loss for the Stars.
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TAKEAWAYS
Stars: Wearing No. 96, Rantanen made his Dallas debut after being traded to the Stars by Carolina on Friday’s trade deadline and then signing an eight-year deal worth $96 million. The Finnish forward, who is now playing for his third team this season after starting out in Colorado, came into the game with 27 goals and 70 points in 62 games. Rantanen picked up an assist on the Stars’ opening goal of the game by Johnston and then scored his 28th on a third-period power play.
Oilers: Also wearing No. 96, the first player in Edmonton franchise history to do so, defenceman Jake Walman played his first game as an Oiler after coming over in a deadline deal with the San Jose Sharks. Walman, who is having a career season with 32 points, also made an immediate impact, springing Hyman with a beautiful long stretch pass for a breakaway goal. He also levelled Rantanen with a mid-ice hit late in the second period.
“Just trying to get my feet under me, especially in that first (period), and after that I kind of settled in and it was pretty easy to play with those guys,” Walman said.
KEY MOMENT
The Oilers went up 4-1 five minutes into the second period on a highlight reel goal by their captain as McDavid zipped around Dallas defender Ilya Lyubushkin to earn a breakaway and then roofed a backhand shot past Oettinger for his 24th of the season. It was Edmonton’s fourth goal on nine shots. McDavid also hit the 80-point plateau for the ninth consecutive season. Only three players have achieved that mark in more consecutive campaigns than McDavid — Wayne Gretzky (13), Dale Hawerchuk (13) and Phil Esposito (11).
KEY STAT
Leon Draisaitl picked up an assist on Edmonton’s third goal to extend his points streak to 14 games, tying his career high. The German forward has 11 goals and 21 points in those 14 games and now has 26 points in 26 games against Dallas in his career.
UP NEXT
Stars: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
Oilers: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
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