The Edmonton Oilers have a track record of bringing their best effort in the playoffs when it is needed most.

The Oilers did it again with a strong performance in their 3-0 Game 2 road victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday to even their Western Conference final series.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner posted his third shutout of the playoffs and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected one goal and one assist to lead the Oilers, who tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Game 3 is Sunday afternoon in Edmonton.

Brett Kulak and Connor Brown also scored, while Evan Bouchard netted a pair of assists.

"We believe that we're a good team in a tough situation," captain Connor McDavid said. "Down one on the road, gotta have your best game, and we had a good one. We found a way to win."

Skinner, who equalled Curtis Joseph's franchise record for shutouts in a year, delivered 25 saves in a bounce-back outing for him and the team.

Skinner's biggest save of the clash -- a sprawling stick stop in the third period when Esa Lindell fired at an open net -- was a perfect example of why the Oilers won and gained momentum as the series shifts to Edmonton.

"Desperation and lucky to get a stick on it," Skinner said. "It's just compete. you saw that from me and saw that from everybody out there."

Goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 22 shots for the Stars, who were blanked for the fourth time in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

"Not the game we wanted," Stars forward Wyatt Johnston said. "But it's a long series and the most important game is the next one."

After failing to score a road power-play goal in the first two rounds, the Oilers opened the scoring with a second man-advantage marker in as many outings when Nugent-Hopkins redirected Bouchard's point shot at the 5:51 mark.

Seconds after Skinner denied a golden chance, Kulak doubled the Edmonton lead at 15:23 of the second period by burying his own second chance for his first goal of the playoffs.

With his assist on the goal, McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to collect 20 or more points in four consecutive playoff runs, joining Sergei Fedorov of the Detroit Red Wings, and New York Islanders greats Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier.

Brown made it a three-goal edge 73 seconds later by heading to the net and redirecting a Nugent-Hopkins shot.

The Stars gave very little reason to expect another third-period comeback, managing only a few quality scoring chances in the final frame.

"I liked our game better than Game 1," coach Pete DeBoer said. "We were playing from behind but it's a pretty even game a chunk of the game. ... We had some looks where he made some saves."

Adding to the intensity of the coming games will be the status of Dallas top-line center Roope Hintz, who needed help to the dressing room early in the third period after being on the receiving end of a slash near the ankle from Darnell Nurse, for which he was assessed a two-minute penalty.

Asked what he thought of the penalty, DeBoer replied: "Does anyone in this room think that if Connor McDavid gets carried off the ice like that, that it's not a five minute major? That's my answer."

--Field Level Media