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Oilers Game Notes: Stars host Edmonton riding 13-game streak without a loss in regulation
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Photo credit: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Cam Lewis
Mar 12, 2026, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 12, 2026, 14:45 EDT
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After some inconsistent efforts coming out of the Olympic break, the Oilers have locked things down through the first half of this four-game road trip. Edmonton opened the trip with a 4-2 win in Vegas before taking down the NHL-leading Avalanche 4-3, and now they’ll face another juggernaut in Dallas.

Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars

  • Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026
  • Start Time: 6:00 PM MT
  • Location: Dallas, Texas
  • Venue: American Airlines Center
  • Watch: Sportsnet
1. The Stars have been on a historic run over the past few weeks, riding a 13-game stretch without a regulation loss that dates back to January 22. They rolled into the Olympic break, and they’ve been rolling since play resumed.
Dallas beat the Kraken and Predators at home right after the break before going on the road and hammering the Canucks and Flames in back-to-back games by identical scores of 6-1. The Stars lost 5-4 in the shootout to the Avalanche at home, snapping a franchise-record 10-game winning streak, then rebounded with wins over the Blackhawks and Golden Knights.
2. The recent part of this stretch has been particularly impressive for the Stars, given the injuries the team is currently navigating. The Stars announced in February that Tyler Seguin would miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs after undergoing surgery for an ACL injury suffered in early December. Mikko Rantanen suffered an injury during the Olympics playing for Finland and hasn’t suited up since, while fellow Finn Roope Hintz has only played in one game since the break.
Despite the absence of two-thirds of their top forward line, Dallas has posted a 6-0-1 record in seven games since the Olympics. The Stars have been getting plenty of offence from elsewhere in the lineup. Matt Duchene leads the way with ten points in the team’s last seven, Wyatt Johnston has come through with five goals, and Sam Steel, Nathan Bastian, and Jamie Benn have each scored three. Miro Heiskanen has provided seven points in seven games from the blueline.
3. Strong defence and goaltending have also been critical to the run Dallas has been enjoying. In seven games since the break, the Stars have allowed only 14 goals. Starter Jake Oettinger has a .918 save percentage in four starts, while backup Casey DeSmith has surrendered just five goals across three starts.
Though he’s the backup, DeSmith has been the better of the two this season. The 34-year-old is 14-4-5 with a .912 save percentage in 24 games played. Oettinger, who has received Vezina Trophy votes in each of the past three seasons, has a career-low .899 save percentage in 41 appearances. The Minnesota native was the third-stringer in the United States’ gold medal-winning run at the Olympics and didn’t see any game action.
4. Thursday’s game should be an interesting matchup on special teams. Both squads will want to avoid the penalty box, as Edmonton and Dallas boast the league’s top power-play percentages at 33.2 and 29.7, respectively.
The Stars have been above-average on the penalty kill this season, with an efficiency of 80.5 percent that ranks them 12th in the league. The Oilers, meanwhile, have struggled mightily at dealing with penalties this season, sitting in 26th with a 77.2 penalty kill percentage.
Edmonton’s top priority at the trade deadline was adding players like Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson to help the struggling penalty kill. The Oilers killed two of three penalties in Colorado on Tuesday, and they held the Golden Knights off the board in two opportunities on Sunday. The new-look unit will have another test against Dallas on Thursday, unless the team can stay out of the box.
5. Edmonton and Dallas both sit second in their respective divisions, though the two Western Conference rivals have taken very different paths to get there. While the Stars have put together a streak with only one shootout loss in 13 games, the Oilers haven’t had a winning streak extend beyond three games. Even getting to three games was a challenge, and it’s something the team has done only once all year.
The Stars have a 40-14-10 record, good for second in the Central Division, Western Conference, and the overall NHL standings. They’re five points back of the league-leading Avalanche, and they’re three points ahead of the Wild, who they’re very likely to face in the first round of the playoffs.
The Oilers are 16th in the NHL with a 32-25-8 record. They’re tied with the Golden Knights for second in the Pacific Division, three points behind the up-and-coming Ducks for top spot. Though a first-round meeting with Vegas seems most likely, Edmonton still has time to jump Anaheim for its first division crown since the Smythe days of the 1980s.

What they said…

Stars captain Jamie Benn on the team’s 13-game stretch without a loss in regulation…
“It seems like every night you’re talking about different guys chipping in. That’s what is great about this hockey club. It’s different guys every night, and that’s what it takes. It takes a team to win in this league. It takes 60, sometimes 65 minutes, and I think the guys have done a great job.”
“I really think we’re taking some steps this year compared to last with getting better and giving that one extra percent. It might sound funny to other people — what is one percent? — but we know what that is, and we believe that when we give that, it gives us a great chance to win a hockey game.”
Dallas head coach Glen Gulutzan on motivating everyone on the team to contribute…
“I think the one thing we’ve done a good job of this year, and our group hopefully feels, is they all feel like they’ve got a little piece of this thing. That’s important. You’re not going to win it with one line or two lines, you have to win it with your depth. When all the good teams start playing each other when it’s down to 16, eight and then four, you’re going to need more than the superstars some nights. You’re going to need those other guys. Our group has a lot of guys that are bought in and feel that they’re counted on to make a difference.”
“I told the guys we’re looking for soldiers this time of year. Every player has played well and we just need guys who are willing to do whatever it takes to win hockey games.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on Edmonton’s two recent road wins in Vegas and Colorado… 
“These last two games, we’ve understood where we’re at and how important these points are, no matter who you play. You play against the best team in the league, and you’re going to have to bring it. I thought we did a great job.”
“These are games that you can look back on next month and really rally behind and understand that when we play like that, we can beat anybody.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch after Edmonton’s win against the Avalanche on Tuesday…
“That was one of our better games tonight. A lot of simplicity to our game. I thought the guys worked really hard, the reloads, the backchecks, the defencemen checking, all of those fine details that we need to do every single night, and tonight was done very well.”
“[Goaltender Tristan Jarry] should feel very good about this. He gets in there with 30 seconds left in the second period, and he’s tested two times. Then in the third period, he made some big saves, a couple on Colorado’s power play.
“Yes, he should feel very good about this. And we’re going to definitely need him right away, once, if not twice, going into this back-to-back [in Dallas and St. Louis].”

Final word…

The Oilers can make a major statement with a win in Dallas on Thursday. Though the Stars aren’t at full strength, the team has been just about unbeatable over the past couple of months. Another win against one of the league’s top teams would serve as a reminder that Edmonton remains a serious Stanley Cup contender despite an uneven season.

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