McDavid, Hyman spark offense to help Edmonton take lead in Western Conference Final
© Getty Images
Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman each scored two goals to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at Rogers Place on Sunday.
Hyman also had an assist, and Evan Bouchard had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who won their second straight game after losing 6-3 in Game 1. John Klingberg scored on a power play, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane each had three assists. Stuart Skinner made 33 saves.
Jason Robertson scored his first goal of the postseason for Dallas, which has been outscored 9-3 at even strength in this series. Jake Oettinger made 18 saves and has lost two straight games for the first time this postseason.
The winner of Game 3 in a best-of-7 series that is tied 1-1 has gone on to advance 66.2 percent of the time (243-124). In the conference finals, those teams advance 74.7 percent of the time (59-20).
The Oilers took a 2-1 series lead after dropping Game 1 in a best-of-7 conference final for the second time in franchise history, following 1987.
What we learned: It’s impossible to hold McDavid down for too long. The Stars had done a great job of it across the first six periods of this series, holding him to three assists but no goals on eight shots across 45:52 of ice time. That ended at 14:38 of the first period on Sunday when McDavid finished a give-and-go with Nugent-Hopkins for a 2-0 lead. Then, with 19 seconds left in the second period, McDavid claimed a loose puck that had trickled through the feet of Mikko Rantanen along the boards and scored to make it 3-1. McDavid had three goals in his first 13 postseason games this season. It’s McDavid’s 44th career multipoint game in the playoffs, breaking a tie with Brad Marchand (43) for fourth-most among active players behind Sidney Crosby (67), Evgeni Malkin (53) and Nikita Kucherov (48).
What this means for the Stars: It’s time to find some answers. Other than a dominant third period in Game 1 in which Dallas scored five goals, including three on the power play, the Stars have been the lesser team for long stretches of the first three games. They played Game 3 without top center Roope Hintz, who sustained a lower-body injury in Game 2, and the altered lines took time to jell. Hintz’s status for Game 4 is unclear, although he did take warmups Sunday. There were signs of life in the second period of Game 3. Jason Robertson scored a goal, his first of the postseason, and Matt Duchene, who has one goal this postseason, had a stellar chance that required brilliant glove work from Skinner. The Stars have to win three of the next four games and they have managed three 5-on-5 goals thus far.
What this means for the Oilers: Edmonton has the upper hand, both historically and emotionally. Despite a shaky second period, in which the Oilers already had a 2-0 lead, the Oilers dominated long stretches of this game after being dominant in Game 2. Not only has McDavid started to find his footing, but other players are getting going as well. Hyman had his first goal in seven games to make it 4-1. Nugent-Hopkins and Kane each had three assists. Skinner stopped each of the 25 shots he faced in Game 3 and added 33 saves on 34 shots in Game 3.
Key moment: There was a stoppage at 13:52 of the first period. The Stars believed that the puck had been shot directly out play by an Oilers player in the defensive zone. The officials discussed the play but did not assess a delay of game penalty. Ten seconds later, Edmonton was on the attack and Bouchard slammed home a slap shot for the first goal of the game and the Oilers never looked back. To make matters worse, McDavid scored the game-winning goal 36 seconds later while the crowd was still roaring over the first goal. It’s the third time during these 2025 playoffs that the Oilers have tallied twice in fewer than 40 seconds.
Unsung player of the game: Hyman had more goals than any other player in last season’s playoffs, scoring 16 in 25 games to help the Oilers advance to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Florida Panthers. He had three entering Sunday, got his fourth and fifth in the third period, and was a team-best plus-5. It’s his seventh multigoal game in the postseason for the Oilers. Hyman is also contributing in other ways this postseason, with six assists and 109 hits, the most among any player. He had 10 hits in Game 3.
What’s next: Game 4 is at Rogers Place on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN, ESPN+). Edmonton is 5-1 at home this postseason.
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
