EDMONTON — Kris Knoblauch needed someone — anyone — to step up.
The Oilers were taking on water after a flying start to Game 3 of the NHL's Western Conference final.
Connor McDavid had been shot out of a cannon, setting up Edmonton's first goal and scoring another in Monday's quick-strike opening 20 minutes that saw the home side lead 2-0 and hold the Dallas Stars to just three shots.
The momentum, however, was resoundingly flipped after the intermission. And the Oilers didn't respond nearly quick enough.
Every line Knoblauch, the team's rookie head coach, sent over the boards in that disastrous 10-minute stretch to open the second was on its heels as the Stars poured into the offensive zone in white-and-green waves.