That changed, Wednesday night, as the Oilers outplayed the Stars over the lion’s share of the 60 minutes en route to a solid 5-2 win. To these eyes, Dallas had trouble contending with Edmonton’s quickness. The Oilers converted that advantage into a 50-36 edge in shots.
More importantly, the victory brings the Oilers tantalizingly close to punching their ticket to the post-season.
Here’s the tale of the tape…
MIKE SMITH. 8. Remained red hot. Stopped 34 of 36. No chance on the 2-1 by Jason Robertson, an absolute rocket that also may have been deflected a touch on the way in. That snapped Smith’s shut-out streak at 144 minutes 39 seconds. The 2-2 was a wild net-front scramble. Smith had many good moments on the evening but perhaps his best was on a 1st Period Dallas Power Play, when he stopped Gurianov, Seguin and then Gurianov again in quick succession. A late stop on Pavelski (on which he lost his mask) capped off a good night. Also took a couple shots at the empty net late which had the building buzzing. The game’s 2nd Star. .948 SV% in his last 10 starts.
