Stars ‘got to our game’ en route to tying series
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
DALLAS — After finding a much-needed opening, the Dallas Stars made sure Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers couldn’t do the same.
Mason Marchment‘s early third-period goal allowed the Stars to gain a firm grip and limit the Oilers to just five shots in the final frame. The result was a 3-1 series-tying win Saturday in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at the American Airlines Center.
“I think we just got to our game,” Marchment said about why the Stars were able to shut down the Oilers in the third. “When we play our game, we’re a hard team to play against when we do the right things at the right times.”
One of the conversations coming out of the Stars’ 3-2 double-overtime loss Thursday to the Oilers was how they let McDavid find the time and space for two openings, one of which led to the game-winning goal.
After Game 2, the discussion shifted to how the Stars tied the series while effectively silencing the four players who came into Saturday leading the NHL in postseason points.
McDavid, who is second with 23 points, was held to one shot. Draisaitl, who leads the playoffs with 25 points, had two shots and saw his 13-game points streak come to an end. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, who has 21 points, finished with three shots. And as for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has 17 points this postseason? He didn’t record a single shot over his 18:47 of ice time.
Piecing together what might have been the Stars’ strongest defensive performance of these playoffs, however, was something that took time.
Dallas took a 1-0 lead just 3:39 into the first period when captain Jamie Benn scored on a 2-on-1 only to then have Edmonton’s Connor Brown grab his first goal of the postseason less than a minute later.
Fending off the Oilers was the priority for the remainder of the first period, with Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger stopping 15 of the 16 shots he faced while his team mustered only four shots.
“I’d rather get work than sitting there and then all of a sudden, they get 2-on-1s and breakaways,” said Oettinger, who finished with 28 saves. “Sometimes, those are even harder — the games you get 16 shots and 16 chances compared to 40 shots.”
Going from four shots in the first to 11 shots in the second allowed the Stars to gradually find the offensive cohesion that allowed Ryan Suter to fire a shot from the left point that Marchment deflected under Stuart Skinner‘s right arm for a 2-1 lead less than four minutes into the third.
Even with their one-goal lead, the Stars remained aggressive by finishing with 10 shots while holding the Oilers to half that amount.
Goal prevention has become a hallmark of a Stars playoff run that has allowed them to reach the conference finals for a third time in five years.
They’ve allowed 2.33 goals per game, which is the fourth-lowest mark of any team in the playoffs and the lowest of the four remaining teams.
Stars coach Peter DeBoer said his team’s performance against the Oilers goes back to a lesson it learned in the second round when Dallas played the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars had a three-goal lead only to lose in overtime for what was then their sixth consecutive Game 1 loss to open a series.
“Getting the lead, it was critical. That allows you to stay above them and manage the puck and not try and push outside your comfort zone trying to score,” DeBoer explained. “I think since Game 1 against Colorado when we blew the 3-0 lead, I think we’ve been really locked in those situations and have done a really good job.”
What might have been the defining moment came in the final two minutes of the third. By that point, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch had already pulled Skinner, which led to Esa Lindell scoring an empty netter with 2:03 left in the third.
Knoblauch pulled Skinner again with 1:41 remaining to create a 6-on-5 that went to a 6-on-4 once Benn was called for hooking with 1:30 left. The Oilers had less than a minute with the two-skater advantage as Evander Kane received a slashing penalty with 47 seconds remaining.
The Oilers still had a 5-on-4 with the empty net yet struggled to not only get a shot on net but also faced difficulty getting set in the Stars’ zone. And when they did get a shot off, there was a Stars player in the way, which is why Dallas finished with 22 blocked shots.
Both Marchment and Oettinger were measured when talking about the Stars’ defensive effort.
Especially when it came to McDavid.
“Guys are choosing to be on the D-side and when you have the best player of all time probably on the other side, those are the decisions that can make or break with them scoring or not,” Oettinger said.
Marchment echoed a similar sentiment.
“Like Jake said, he’s the best player in the world,” Marchment said. “It’s going to take a full team effort, and I thought for the most part we did a great job tonight.”
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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