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 Respond they did, winning 4-2 thanks to center Jason Spezza
recording a hat trick and goalie Kari Lehtonen stopping 26 of 28
shots in his first start of the season.
"I thought we played real well, did a lot of good things in the
game," Ruff said. "(That was) the type of game we need to win, the
type of game that probably last year would have went the other way.
(I) thought we stayed with it."
Edmonton center Connor McDavid, the first overall pick in the 2015
draft, scored his first career goal. The Oilers also got a goal from
defenseman Oscar Klefbom.
Spezza's first tally came 2:12 before the first intermission when he
scored from a nearly impossible angle. His wrist shot came from
outside the right circle and struck the pad of Oilers goaltender
Anders Nilsson before crossing the line.
Stars rookie center Mattias Janmark was credited with the primary
assist, giving him three points (two goals, one assist) in his first
three NHL games.
Spezza's second tally came with 4:30 remaining in regulation,
breaking a 2-2 tie. He beat Nilsson through the five-hole with a
wrist shot from the high slot.
Spezza completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal with 57
seconds remaining.
"Well, the second goal felt good because we were coming to get the
lead back," Spezza said. "I thought we had a good game. We stuck
with it and got rewarded at the end of the game."
Left winger Jamie Benn also scored for Dallas (2-1-0).
Midway through the opening frame, Dallas lost right winger Patrick
Eaves to a lower-body injury. Eaves, who did not return to the ice,
had been skating on the Stars' top line with Benn and center Tyler
Seguin.
"Looks like he's going to miss a little bit of time," Ruff said of
Eaves. "Doesn't look like it's a day-to-day thing."
Early in the second period, Benn made it 2-0 with a nice wraparound
goal. After receiving the puck behind the visiting net, he skated
around the right side of the net and tucked the puck inside the near
post, beating Nilsson through his legs.
However, the Oilers answered twice to tie the game with two goals
within 1:23 later in the middle frame, making it 2-2. Klefbom scored
with a hard slap shot from the left circle that deflected in off the
arm of Dallas center Vernon Fiddler at 10:55.
Then, McDavid scored by deflecting in a shot by defenseman Andrej
Sekera past beat Lehtonen at the far post.
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"It's pretty special, obviously," McDavid said of scoring his first
goal. "It's something that I'll remember for the rest of my life.
Obviously, not the way you want to end that game, but pretty special
to get it right away."
The Stars had an apparent goal by right winger Patrick Sharp waved
off at 9:43 of the third period. Sharp looked to have put a shot
past Nilsson at the far post, but after a lengthy review, the play
was ruled dead.
Nilsson stopped 48 of 51 shots before leaving the ice with 1:20
remaining.
"I thought tonight we came and we were just putting time in," Oilers
coach Todd McLellan said. "We weren't ready to push. We were just
happy to defend. We had many individuals that were overwhelmed with
(the Stars') speed, and that's concerning, but I think we're a
better team than we showed tonight."
NOTES: Oilers D Andrew Ference, C Rob Klinkhammer and D Griffin
Reinhart were scratched. ... Stars D Patrik Nemeth, RW Valeri
Nichushkin and D Jamie Oleksiak were scratched. ... G Anders Nilsson
made his Edmonton debut. Nilsson had 23 games of NHL experience with
the Islanders and spent last season in the KHL. ... Stars G Kari
Lehtonen made his first start of the season. Lehtonen's last start
came April 3 against St. Louis when he allowed six goals on 19
shots. ... LW Taylor Hall skated on Edmonton's first line after
missing the morning skate due to illness and being called
questionable by coach Todd McLellan. ... C Colton Sceviour, a
healthy scratch in Dallas' first two games, made his season debut
and appeared in his 100th NHL game. ... Tuesday marked the first of
three regular-season meetings between the teams.
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