Marchment scores winner as Stars beat Oilers 3-1 to even Western Conference final

Mason Marchment scored the winner early in the third period as the Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Saturday to even the NHL’s Western Conference final 1-1.

Jamie Benn, with a goal and an assist, and Esa Lindell, into an empty net, provided the rest of the offence for Dallas. Jake Oettinger stopped 28 shots for the Stars, who were without No. 1 centre Roope Hintz for a fourth straight playoff game with a lower-body injury.

Connor Brown grabbed a goal for Edmonton, and Stuart Skinner had 22 saves.

The Stars lost their seventh straight Game 1 on Thursday, but have rebounded with a Game 2 victory in five of those matchups.

The best-of-seven series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 beginning Monday.

Marchment snapped a 1-1 tie at 3:41 of the third when he tipped a knuckling Ryan Suter point shot through the legs of Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais and past Skinner for his second goal of the post-season.

The breakthrough came shortly after Stars rookie Logan Stankoven sent a puck through Edmonton’s crease with Skinner down and out.

Mattias Ekholm had a couple chances late in the third, but Oettinger was there both times to deny the Oilers blueliner before Lindell scored his second into an empty net with 2:03 remaining in regulation.

Dallas opened the scoring at 3:39 of the first when Benn fired his fourth off a 2-on-1 on the Stars’ first shot.

Edmonton responded just 44 seconds later when Connor Brown slid a rebound past Oettinger for his second-career playoff goal — and first since April 2018 when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Skinner made a couple of big stops later in the period despite the Oilers holding a 16-4 shot advantage through 20 minutes, denying Wyatt Johnson and two chances off the stick of Tyler Seguin.

Skinner made another huge save on Evgenii Dadonov six minutes into the second as the Stars came with a push before the Oilers killed off their 20th straight penalty to improve to an outstanding 38-for-41 in these playoffs.

Oettinger made a good stop on a Mattias Janmark wraparound chance to keep the score at 1-1 through 40 minutes before Marchment nudged Dallas ahead to even the series.

Taking it in

Travis Kelce of…