Jamie Benn thought better Saturday evening of a cross-ice pass to center Logan Stankoven during a 2-on-1 break, the Dallas Stars captain and left winger firing a 79.3-mph wrist shot instead that sent Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner fishing into his net and about 18,000 fans into celebration.
Benn glided past his home bench and touched gloves with teammates. A green-outfitted crowd chanted “Dal-las Stars” to a Pantera song and waved white rally towels.
A fast start.
Hectic first few minutes, but let's all appreciate this snipe from the captain 😮💨
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) May 26, 2024
Jamie Benn makes it 1-0 Stars seconds before Edmonton ties it up #TexasHockey
Video via @DallasStars pic.twitter.com/KfAjYJhzZk
In about the span of what it takes to microwave cold pizza, everything changed.
Forty-four seconds separated Benn’s first-period goal with right wing Connor Brown’s rebuttal, the Oilers killing a party buzz with the same cold efficiency as they can a power play. Edmonton accounted for 13 of the next 14 shots on goal after Benn’s score. The Stars showed maturity to weather the counter punch in a 3-1 victory.
Left wing Mason Marchment poked out his stick to redirect a third-period shot from defenseman Ryan Suter that gave the Stars the lead. Esa Lindell added an empty-netter with about two minutes remaining.
“I think it’s leadership,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said of his team’s resolve. “When you look at the personalities of our leaders — you know, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin — ultra-competitive people but in an understated way. They’re not riding those emotional waves. They’ve been around long enough that they get that that’s not going to be productive. That’s all leadership in our dressing room.”
The sound that echoed loudest from Thursday’s Game 1 in these Western Conference finals was the clang of a cross bar and post when the Stars missed scoring a game-winning goal during a four-minute power play opportunity in overtime.
Dallas went 0-for-5 on the power play in that 3-2 double-overtime loss.
The sound that just as easily could have haunted from Saturday, unsettling the Stars during a long Sunday flight north to Alberta for Monday’s Game 3 in Edmonton, was the near-mute button Brown abruptly pressed on American Airlines Center to wipe out the early edge.
“There’s a lot of character in here,” said Suter, who is 39. “You’ve got a lot of young guys that are playing hard for us old guys and a lot of old guys that are playing hard for the young guys. Just everyone is bought in. Nothing really fazes us.”
The Benn and Brown scores came 3:39 and 4:23 into the game, respectively.
Brown’s goal happened so suddenly it nearly interrupted Jeff Kovarsky, the arena’s public address announcer, when giving his rundown of who scored and assisted on the Benn-led fast break. Center Wyatt Johnston fed Benn with a pass from the Stars’ blue line, the puck trickling past defenseman Cody Ceci and onto Benn’s black and gold Bauer stick in transition.
The Oilers led an onslaught over the next several minutes. By the time the first period concluded, the Stars had blocked more shots on goal, seven, than the five shots Dallas managed on offense. Contrast that to the third period: The Stars allowed five shots on goal in the final session.
Edmonton had a fast response time Saturday.
The one from Dallas was more lasting.
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