Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch hopeful of a rebound despite "heartbreaking" Game 1 loss

Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is hopeful of a comeback after the 6-3 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 1 on Wednesday. The Oilers led 3-1 after two periods but gave up five goals in the third. Three of them came on the power play as Dallas took advantage of Edmonton’s penalties to take control of the game.

The Oilers have had comeback wins against the LA Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights but were on the receiving end against the Stars. Talking about it, Knoblauch said that the team had a good start but struggled in the third. He admitted being short-handed for six minutes made things tougher.

"We were short-handed for about six minutes of the third period," Knoblauch said. "That makes it a little more difficult to come back. I just think we took a step back. Obviously, they had the momentum, the energy from the crowd. We're very disappointed.

"After the first two periods, we felt it was a good start, and then it just turned in the third period."

Edmonton led 3-1 after two periods, but Dallas scored five times in the third period, including three straight on the power play.

Knoblauch felt disappointed about the game's outcome but showed his confidence in recovering from the Game 1 loss. He mentioned that Edmonton has bounced back from tough losses before and can do it again.

"We're going to have to put this one behind us and move on," Knoblauch said. "We've had some heartbreaking losses in the playoffs, and we've been able to rebound nicely and not worry too much about it."

In Game 2 on Friday, he wants the group to focus on playing smarter and staying out of the box as the Oilers seek to even the series and get back on track.

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Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl discusses penalty kill and power play in Game 1

The Dallas Stars took the lead in the Western Conference Final after beating Edmonton on Wednesday.

Tyler Seguin scored twice for the Stars, while Miro Heiskanen, Mikael Granlund, Matt Duchene, and Esa Lindell netted once apiece. Menawhile, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard scored for Edmonton, with Draisaitl registering two assists, like his captain Connor McDavid.

Draisaitl said after the loss:

"Couldn't come up with a kill, game got away from us a little bit through the kill. Our power play when you have a chance to tie it wasn't much better. Gotta look at it & correct it."

The Stars went 3-for-4 with the man advantage and also controlled 62.1% of the faceoffs, helping them gain more chances.