Oilers star Connor McDavid sinks Stars in double OT to give Edmonton a 3-2 Game 1 win in the Western Conference Finals after botching open-net chance

Connor McDavid recovered from a costly mistake in the first overtime to score the game winner for the Oilers in the second, as Edmonton took a 1-0 lead over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals with a 3-2 win.

“Apologies to everyone for keeping everyone awake for a while,” McDavid told the TNT Sports crew from Dallas via satellite.

McDavid shockingly failed to score on a nearly open net with five minutes left in the first overtime before ultimately winning the game in the opening minute of the second OT.

Stars netminder Jake Oettinger was caught out of position but still managed to deflect McDavid’s wrist with help from defenseman Chris Tanev to keep the score at 2-2.

“It should have gone in,” McDavid said afterwards. ‘Got to go in. He is a good goalkeeper and tries to make a good move, but he has to go in.’

McDavid, center left, gestures to teammate defender Evan Bouchard after an assist

McDavid didn’t have to wait long to correct his mistake in the second overtime. He took a centering pass from Evan Bouchard 30 seconds into the frame before beating Oettinger with a stick-side wrist shot.

Dallas’ Tyler Seguin was sent into the game late in the third period with his tying goal coming off assists from Evgenii Dadonov and Jason Robertson.

He also scored Dallas’ first goal of the game six minutes into the second period, which got off to a precarious start for the Stars.

First, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl scored a minute into the frame to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead before Zach Hyman followed two minutes later with an own goal off an assist from McDavid.

Star center Roope Hintz was left out of the lineup for the opening game of the Western Conference Final, with the Oilers still without forward Adam Henrique. Both players are expected to feature in the series at some point.

McDavid shockingly failed to score on a nearly open net with five minutes left in the first OT

The Stars were 0 for 3 on power plays in regulation, but then couldn’t take advantage of four minutes with a man advantage after a high-stick penalty against McDavid in the opening seconds of the first overtime that was only called after a replay review on the next stoppage in play.

McDavid and Matt Duchene skated side by side away from the center circle after the Oilers captain won the face-off between the two to open the first overtime period. There was initially no whistle blown when Duchene took a stick to the face, but officials eventually changed their minds.

When Oettinger secured the puck on a Bouchard shot to stop the clock 17 seconds into overtime, and with blood dripping down Duchene’s lower lip, the officials conducted a replay review and forced a double minor penalty.

Dallas called a timeout after three shots in the first three minutes of that penalty, but then got just one more shot on net before McDavid was out of the box.

Game 2 of the series takes place Saturday night in Dallas.

And the American Airlines Arena will rock again on Sunday when the NBA’s Mavericks host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.