Game Day Guide: Stars vs Oilers

Game Day Guide: Stars vs Oilers

Watch, listen, live stream and view the latest stats on the matchup against Edmonton

When: Saturday, October 19 at 3:00 PM CT

Where: American Airlines Center

TV: Victory+

Radio: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM

Live Stats: NHL Game Center

Tickets: Single Game / Rentals

Local Parking: AAC Parking Options

Arena Bag Policy: Frequently Asked Questions

Party on PNC Plaza: 1:30 PM South Entrance

Promotional Schedule: Hall of Fame Weekend Game

Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Record
4-1-0 (3-0-0 Home)
2-3-0 (1-0-0 Away)
Rank
8 Points (T-1st Central)
4 Points (7th Pacific)
Power Play
5.9% (1-for-17)
7.7% (1-for-13)
Penalty Kill
94.7% (18-for-19)
57.9% (11-for-19)
Last 10 Games
4-1-0
2-3-0

Five Points 5️⃣

  • The Dallas Stars face the Edmonton Oilers Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center for the first time this season. Entering Saturday’s match, the Stars are 4-1-0 while the Oilers are 2-3-0, kicking off the regular season.
  • The Stars have won four of their last eight games vs. Edmonton at American Airlines Center.
  • Dallas is 79-48-23 all-time vs. Edmonton, including a 45-20-11 mark at home.
  • Among active Stars, forward Matt Duchene ranks second in goals (13), first in assists (29) and tied for first in points (13-29—42) in 45 career contests vs. Edmonton. Duchene has 12 points (4-8—12) in his last 12 games against the Oilers dating back to Jan. 14, 2020.
  • Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 3-2-1 with a 2.68 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in six career appearances vs. Edmonton.

Stats Against Opponent ✍

Active Streaks
Leading Scorers

Miro Heiskanen (0-4—4, 4 GP) 

Jamie Benn (24-18—42, 43 GP)

Thomas Harley (1-2—3, 2 GP)

Tyler Seguin (11-14—25, 28 GP)

Wyatt Johnston (1-2—3, 2 GP)

Roope Hintz (6-8—14, 14 GP)

Jason Robertson (4-7—11, 9 GP)

Players To Watch

Forward Johnston collected an assist Oct. 17 at Washington and has earned a point in each of his first five games to start the 2024-25 season, becoming the third player in franchise history to record a point in each of his team’s first five games of a season at age 21 or younger.

Oilers Captain Connor McDavid has earned five points (1-4—5) through five games for Edmonton and is currently on a four-game point streak. McDavid has earned at least five points in his first five games played each season dating back to 2016-17.

First Shift

Technically speaking, every game in the NHL is a chance to bank two points in the standings, and every game should be judged equally.

But there are some exceptions to that philosophy.

The Stars on Saturday will face the Edmonton Oilers, the same team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, and the same team that might end up standing in the way again this season. So, yeah, that will be a different sort of challenge.

“You remember that they’re the team that knocked you out of the playoffs,” Stars captain Benn said. “Obviously, it’s a new year, but you still want to win pretty badly. There’s some fire there.”

Stars coach Pete DeBoer said that this is similar to starting the season against Central Division rival Nashville.

“They’re big. I don’t think it’s any bigger than the division game against Nashville, or those types of games,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, with the way the season ended last year, that’s still fairly fresh, but it’s a new year and a new group.”

The Stars went 0-for-14 on the power play in the six-game series against the Oilers and have gone 1-for-17 to start the year on the man advantage, and that will definitely be a topic of conversation before Saturday’s game.

“There’s definitely things we need to do differently,” Benn said. “I need to win the faceoff to start with. I don’t think I’ve won very many so far, and that can change a lot of things. It starts with the faceoffs, and then we need to start shooting and keep it more simple. It’ll come. We need to start outworking the penalty kill, and then it will come.”

Dallas lost a big part of the power play when Joe Pavelski retired in the summer. They also have been hampered by the fact that Robertson missed all of training camp following foot surgery and Johnston missed some of camp with a lower body injury. With Seguin also out with a lower body injury for the past two games, Dallas has had to adjust on the fly.

“I think we’ve fallen into a little bit of a trap where we’re squeezing our sticks a little bit too tight,” DeBoer said of the tendency to allow a slump to get into your head. “You’re seeing some frustration and it’s way too early to be dealing with that. We’re five games in, and you have to expect that there are parts of your game that are not going to be in a perfect spot this early in the year. For the most part, a lot of our game is in a really good spot, so that’s one area we’ve got to work on.”

Dallas enters the game at 4-1-0, coming off a 3-2 loss in Washington on Thursday. Edmonton is 2-3-0, but took a 4-2 win in Nashville on Thursday. Both teams are excited about the rematch.

“I think you just know that they’re a good team,” goalie Stuart Skinner said. “You know what they’re going to bring and the type of game that they play. They’re very well structured, have great goaltending, and are obviously just a really tough team. So they’re pretty well the same every single night.”

DeBoer said not only is there a direct challenge in playing the Oilers again, but also in responding to a loss. Dallas concentrated on avoiding consecutive losses last season, and that was one reason they had the second-best record in the NHL.

“I think for us, it’s about us having the same mindset where we don’t lose two in a row, we bounce back and find a way to play a good game,” DeBoer said. “There’s just a pride in our consistency of play and an honesty to the group to get things fixed to help us win games the next time around.”

Key Numbers

1

The Stars have just one defenseman with a point this season – Harley with two assists in five games. The rest have been held off the scoresheet, including Heiskanen.

24

Benn has scored 24 goals in 43 games against the Oilers, the most goals he has scored against any opponent. Benn has logged a plus-15 rating, the second best against any opponent.

5.9%

Dallas is 1-for-17 on the power play, good for 5.9 percent (29th in the NHL). Edmonton is 57.9 percent on the penalty kill, ranking 31st.

He Said It

“He is a guy who pops out at you when he plays, because he is tenacious and on the puck. I’ve got a lot of time for guys who have carved out a career taking the path that he took. Nothing was handed to him, he earned everything he got, and he’s turning into a really good player.”

Stars coach Pete DeBoer on forward Colin Blackwell, who was drafted by the Sharks in 2011 and has forged 240 NHL games with six teams. The Stars signed Blackwell as a free agent in July and he has a goal and an assist in five games this season.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.

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