Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid score 2 each as Oilers dominate Stars 6-1

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Zach Hyman had two goals and an assist, Connor McDavid added two goals and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 6-1 on Sunday, taking a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference final series.

Evan Bouchard, with a goal and an assist, and John Klingberg also scored for the Oilers, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added three assists. Nugent-Hopkins has multipoint efforts in every game of the series, becoming the only Oiler in franchise history other than Wayne Gretzky with more than one point in the first three games of a conference final.

“You have to have dominant nights, you have to have nights where maybe your goalie is better than theirs,” McDavid said. “You have to find ways to win different games different ways and we did again tonight.”

Stuart Skinner was impressive once again in the Edmonton net, making 33 saves to improve to 4-4 in postseason play, his first victory in the playoffs that wasn’t a shutout.

“For him, to be able to battle back the way he has is just really impressive,” said Hyman. “I think a lot of people were counting him out and he came in and has been phenomenal and a big reason we’re up 2-1.”

Skinner struggled to start the postseason and was replaced by backup Calvin Pickard, only to be brought back in when Pickard was injured. He is pleased with how he has tackled the many challenges.

“I’m proud of myself for going through everything I’ve had to go through personally,” said Skinner, who has only allowed one goal in his last two outings. “It takes a lot of courage to keep on getting up. Especially as a goaltender. If you talk to any goalie, that’s just the game. You get hit down so many times and you’ve got to keep on getting up.”

The Oilers have won two straight since their third-period collapse in Game 1 in Dallas.

Jason Robertson scored for the Stars, who are hoping to avoid being knocked out in the third round by the Oilers for a second consecutive season.

The Stars were without forward Roope Hintz, who was tied for second in team scoring entering the game. Hintz had to be helped off the ice late in the third period of Game 2 after he was slashed on the top of the left foot by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

“Tonight, we’re without our No. 1 center, we’re on the road here in a tough environment. I thought we played a really good hockey game for a good stretch of that game,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer.

“So, there’s nothing to get emotional or upset about, I think you have to be realistic with your group. I liked our compete tonight, I liked a lot of parts of our game and we’ve got to build on that and hopefully get Roope Hintz back and get back in this series.

“We don’t have to win three games in this building, we’ve just got to win one and win our home games.”

Jake Oettinger stopped 18 shots in Dallas’ net, falling to 5-10 in his career in West final contests.

Game 4 will be in Edmonton on Tuesday.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Dallas Stars' Wyatt Johnston (53) is stopped by Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) the first period of Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference final in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger (29) makes a save against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference final in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Jason Robertson (21) chases Edmonton Oilers' Vasily Podkolzin (92) during the nsecond period of Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference final in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers players celebrate a goal against the Dallas Stars during the first period of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Sam Steel (18) sprays Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) with ice during the first period of Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference final in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Demonstrations broke out in Iran on Dec. 28 and have spread nationwide as protesters vent their increasing discontent over the Islamic Republic's faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands arrested as the daily protests have grown and the government seeks to contain them. While the initial focus had been on issues like spikes in the prices of food staples and the country's staggering annual inflation rate, protesters have now begun chanting anti-government statements as well.

Here is how the protests developed:

Dec. 28: Protests break out in two major markets in downtown Tehran, after the Iranian rial plunged to 1.42 million to the U.S. dollar, a new record low, compounding inflationary pressure and pushing up the prices of food and other daily necessities. The government had raised prices for nationally subsidized gasoline in early December, increasing discontent.

Dec. 29: Central Bank head Mohammad Reza Farzin resigns as the protests in Tehran spread to other cities. Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital.

Dec. 30: As protests spread to include more cities as well as several university campuses, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with a group of business leaders to listen to their demands and pledges his administration will “not spare any effort for solving problems” with the economy.

Dec. 31: Iran appoints Abdolnasser Hemmati as the countrys new central bank governor. Officials in southern Iran say that protests in the city of Fasa turned violent after crowds broke into the governor's office and injured police officers.

Jan. 1: The protests' first fatalities are officially reported, with authorities saying at least seven people have been killed. The most intense violence appears to be in Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, where videos posted online purport to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!” The semiofficial Fars news agency reports three people were killed. Other protesters are reported killed in Bakhtiari and Isfahan provinces while a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force was killed in Lorestan.

Jan. 2: U.S. President Donald Trump raises the stakes, writing on his Truth Social platform that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” The warning, only months after American forces bombed Iranian nuclear sites, includes the assertion, without elaboration, that: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Protests, meantime, expand to reach more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran's 31 provinces, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Jan. 3: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says “rioters must be put in their place,” in what is seen as a green light for security forces to begin more aggressively putting down the demonstrations. Protests expand to more than 170 locations in 25 provinces, with at least 15 people killed and 580 arrested, HRANA reports.

Jan. 6: Protesters conduct a sit-in at Tehran's Grand Bazaar until security forces disperse them using tear gas. The death toll rises to 36, including two members of Iranian security forces, according to HRANA. Demonstrations have reached over 280 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Jan. 8 to 9: Following a call from Iran's exiled crown prince, a mass of people shout from their windows and take to the streets in an overnight protest. The government responds by blocking the internet and international telephone calls, in a bid to cut off the country of 85 million from outside influence. HRANA says violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 42 people while more than 2,270 others have been detained.

Rising reported from Bangkok

FILE - Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP, File)