FIRST PERIOD
From the moment they were given their first power play less than two minutes into the contest, it was looking like the Oilers were going to end the Stars’ season by running them right out of their own building.
You could say right ‘Otter’ their own building.
The first period of Game 5 on Thursday wasn’t even nine minutes old by the time the Oilers had built themselves a 3-0 lead, chasing netminder Jake Oettinger with two goals on their opening two shots with the help of their tremendous depth that’s been a driving force in these playoffs to get them within one victory of advancing to their second straight Stanley Cup Final.
“We’re deep and we’re a different team,” Corey Perry said. “There are different players in here and a different feel, but you still have to go out and you still have to do the right things, and everybody has to pull on the same rope and continue to pull.”
With Zach Hyman out for the remainder of the playoffs, the net-front role for the Oilers on the power play now belongs to veteran Corey Perry, who’s proven as recently as Tuesday’s Game 5 victory in Edmonton with a goal on the man advantage and an assist that he can still make things happen at 40 years old.
After rookie Mavrik Bourque didn’t manage his stick in the neutral zone before it caught Evan Bouchard under the chin for a high-sticking penalty in the opening two minutes, the Stars left the front of their own net unchecked for Perry to take an open pass from Connor McDavid in the corner and redirect his effort on his first touch under the left arm of Oettinger for an early 1-0 lead.
By scoring his seventh goal of the postseason, Perry set a new NHL record for goals in a postseason by a player aged 39 or older.