San Diego marched into the Cedar Park Center and took Game 1 from Texas with an opportunistic offense and clutch penalty killing. The visitors claimed a 3-1 victory over the Stars, holding them to a single goal and allowing zero shots on four penalty kills on the evening.
"We looked a little bit nervous in our building," said Coach Laxdal. "It started with our puck movement. We looked disconnected. Their penalty killers had more energy, and they frustrated us."
Dallas Eakins and the Gulls were ready for the top-5 ranked Texas power play and despite giving them four chances came out completely unscathed.