A pretty uneventful period was broken by an amazing play by Michael Ryder at the 11:53 mark. He took an innocent pass from Ribeiro and stick dangled his way to glory for his 34th goal of the season. He turned a couple of defenders inside-out before dangling by Devan Dubnyk and calmly putting the puck over him.

Dallas had two power plays in this period but they were ineffective as usual. Edmonton actually had the best chance with a two-on-one breakaway early in the period. Kari Lehtonen was able to make a sliding save to keep the game scoreless.

Reilly Smith got his first NHL action and immediately made a contribution as he had a shot on goal in his very first shift. He looked good with the ice time that he had in the first period and I would hope that he gets more time as the game goes on.

The Stars look okay this period, nothing more, nothing less. There have been some defensive breakdowns, a couple by Sheldon Souray, that led to great chances for the Oilers but Lehtonen was there to save the day.