By Basil Stroh
SEGUIN, DRAISAITL AND McDAVID PLAYERS TO WATCH IN GAME 2
Dallas forward Tyler Seguin (2-1—3), as well as Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl (1-2—3) and Connor McDavid (0-2—2) all left their mark on the score sheet with a multi-point outing in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final and look to be key contributors as the series continues tonight at American Airlines Center. No lead is safe in this series, as the Stars (6) and Oilers (6) enter tied for the most comeback victories in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* A 15-season veteran, Seguin is one of two Stanley Cup winners on the Stars active roster (along with Mikko Rantanen) and used that experience to his advantage posting 2-1—3 in Dallas’ come-from-behind victory in Game 1. In May of 2010, Seguin was at the forefront of the “Taylor vs. Tyler” debate leading into the NHL Draft. The Oilers had the No. 1 pick in that draft and selected Taylor Hall instead of Seguin, who went second overall to the Bruins and won a Stanley Cup with Boston in his rookie year (2011).
* After his Game 1 performance, Seguin now has 4-4—8 in seven career playoff games against the Oilers and, in a twist of fate, could go head to head with Hall in the Stanley Cup Final should Dallas and Carolina each advance. Hall was acquired by the Hurricanes as part of one of the trades involving Rantanen earlier this season and is appearing in the Conference Finals for the first time.
* Draisaitl (6-13—19 in 12 GP) and McDavid (3-16—19 in 12 GP) are both closing in on yet another 20-point postseason as well as major career playoff milestones. Draisaitl (47) is three shy of becoming the 11th active skater to reach 50 playoff goals and would be the sixth in Oilers history to reach the benchmark. Draisaitl’s 0.55 goals per game rate ranks tied for seventh in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (min. 50 GP).
* McDavid (96) sits four helpers away from becoming the fourth active skater to 100 assists, in which he would join Sidney Crosby (130), Nikita Kucherov (118) and Evgeni Malkin (113) and become the fifth in Oilers history to reach the mark. McDavid’s 1.12 assists per game rate ranks second in Stanley Cup Playoffs history (min. 50 GP) behind only Wayne Gretzky (1.25) – Draisaitl (0.93) sits third on that list.
* Should they each reach the 20-point mark in 2025, it would be the second consecutive postseason hitting the benchmark for Draisaitl and fourth straight for McDavid. A fourth consecutive 20-point postseason for McDavid would tie the longest stretch in NHL history, currently held by Sergei Fedorov (1995 – 1998), Bryan Trottier (1980 – 1983) and Mike Bossy (1980 – 1983).
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