Penalties were the story of Wednesday night’s Game 1 Western Conference Finals matchup between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers, with 13 total in a high-intensity game that ended with gloves on the ice. The home team left victorious, defeating the Oilers 6-3, due to a lack of discipline from the No. 3 seed and power play goals shifting the narrative.
Tensions were clearly high, and that was on display most at the end of the game when a brawl broke out between the two teams. Stars youngster Lian Bichsel and Oilers veteran Corey Perry exchanged some blows as gloves dropped and officials attempted to stop the action.
Perry then taunted and mocked Bichsel as the teams headed to the locker rooms after the game, which will only amplifying the tension between the teams going forward.
Here’s a look at how the fight ended:
The frustrations from the Oilers were clear, but they need to make some adjustments when it comes to penalties and the consequences of those power plays. 4The Oilers had a 3-1 lead in the second period, but the Stars came out strong in the third, with Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene each scoring a power play goals early in the period. Their three goals all came in a total of 5 ½ minutes and flipped the script for the Stars to take the control.
Dallas struggled with power plays in the Western Conference Finals last year, and this turnaround of their power play efficiency is significant already. Five straight unanswered goals were more than enough to secure the win and give Dallas a 1-0 lead in the series.
The series will resume on Friday at 8 p.m. in Dallas, and the intensity will likely stay the same for Game 2 and for the remainder of the series. The tempers flying in Game 1 could be a sign of things to come for this Western Conference showdown.