The Dallas Stars have evened the Western Conference Finals at one game apiece with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night following a 3-1 victory at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. A major reason why the Stars picked up the win came down to blocked shots. Dallas players blocked 22 Edmonton shot attempts in game two, while Edmonton players blocked nine Dallas shot attempts.
Who led the Stars in blocked shots?
Four Stars led the way with three blocked shots. They were left winger and captain Jamie Benn of Victoria, British Columbia, center Matt Duchene of Haliburton, Ontario, defenseman Thomas Harley of Syracuse, New York, and 39-year-old Joe Pavelski of Plover, Wisconsin. Duchene and Benn were teammates for Team Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. That was the last time the National Hockey League sent its best players to the Olympics. The Stars also deserved high praise for clogging up the scoring lanes in their own zone, and preventing the Oilers forwards from generating too many Grade A scoring chances.
Stars physical too
Dallas also had the bodychecking edge in game two as well. They had 31 bodychecks compared to only 20 for Dallas. The Stars player that led Dallas in bodychecks was center Craig Smith of Madison, Wisconsin.
Solid night for Jake Oettinger
The Stars also had a notable performance from goaltender Jake Oettinger of Lakeville, Minnesota. Oettinger made 28 saves on 29 shots. The only Oilers player who scored on Oettinger was right winger Connor Brown of Toronto, Ontario. Brown beat Oettinger through the five hole only 44 seconds after the Stars opened the scoring.
Who contributed to the Stars offensively?
Wyatt Johnston of Toronto, Ontario had a multi-point game for the Stars as he had two assists for two points. The goal scorers for the Stars were Benn, Mason Marchment of Uxbridge, Ontario, and Esa Lindell of Vantaa, Finland.
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