Oilers 2, Stars 1 (OT)
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Jordan Eberle scored 45 seconds into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers topped the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Friday night.
The Oilers, having just beaten the Boston Bruins, posted their second upset in three days and won back-to-back games for only the second time this season. The win came in large part to the efforts of goaltender Anders Nilsson, who led them to victory on a night when they were outshot by a 2-to-1 margin.
It was Edmonton's first win over a Central Division team this season and their first back-to-back wins since mid-October. It was Eberle's four goal of the season and first in six games.
Despite being badly outplayed in the first period (shots were 11-4 at one point) the Oilers escaped with a 1-0 lead thanks to an unassisted goal from left winger Taylor Hall at 14:49 and 14 saves from Nilsson.
It was all Dallas in the opening 20 minutes as the Stars had two breakaways in the first 3:30, but Nilsson, who stopped 48 of 51 shots the last time these teams met, was spectacular in keeping the visitors off the board.
The Stars had 27 shots on net by the end of the second period (compared with 17 for the Oilers), but couldn't get anything past Nilsson until center Mattias Jankmark broke free after a faceoff in the Oilers end and scored from close range at 18:23 to make it 1-1 after 40 minutes.
The Stars continued pressing hard in the third period and had back-to-back power plays midway through the frame, and outshot Edmonton 15-4, but couldn't find the go ahead goal.
NOTES: Twelve of Dallas C Tyler Seguin's first 14 goals this season came on the road. He is also 55.9 percent in the faceoff circle. ... The Stars have the best road record in the NHL (11-2-1). ... They lead the Western Conference with 92 goals scored, 17 more than second place Colorado. ... The Oilers were without injured C Connor McDavid, RW Benoit Pouliot, LW Rob Klinkhammer and RW Nail Yakupov. ... Oilers G Anders Nilsson, who was third on the depth chart in training camp, started for the 12th time in Edmonton's last 15 games. ... The Stars moved Valeri Nichushkin to the No.1 line with Seguin and LW Jamie Benn and dropped RW Patrick Sharp to the second line.