DALLAS — Connor McDavid scored 32 seconds into the second overtime and the Edmonton Oilers overcame a captain’s double-minor penalty in the first overtime to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference final.
The Stars were down 3-0 on a power play in regulation time and then failed to capitalize on a four-minute man advantage after a high-stick penalty on McDavid in the opening seconds of the first overtime period was not ruled out until a replay review at the next stoppage.
Leon Draisaitl scored a goal to extend his playoff point streak to 13 games, and Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist for the Oilers.
Three days after the Oilers ended their second-round series with a Game 7 victory on the road in Edmonton, Stuart Skinner stopped 31 shots.
Tyler Seguin scored both goals for the Stars, who have lost Game 1 of their last seven playoff series dating back to 2022.
The second game is Saturday night.
McDavid and Matt Duchene were seen skating past each other away from the centre circle after McDavid, the Oilers captain, won a faceoff between the two at the start of the first overtime period.
There was no whistle initially when Duchene was hit in the face with a stick.
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger secured the puck on an Evan Bouchard shot to stop the clock 17 seconds into overtime, but Duchene had blood on his lower lip, so the referee reviewed the replay and assessed a double-minor penalty.
Dallas called a timeout after three shots in the first three minutes of the penalty period, but only had one shot opportunity on net after that until McDavid emerged from the penalty box.
McDavid had a chance to end the game with about 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first overtime period, but his shot was blocked after both Ottinger and defenseman Chris Tanev put their sticks down to keep the puck out of the goal.
Ottinger made 35 saves.
