Edmonton forward Zach Hyman feels like the Oilers probably played better in the opener of the Western Conference final than in the second game that they won.

Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer had a similar feeling about that game his team lost.

After those contrasting outcomes, the West final rematch is even going into Game 3 in Edmonton on Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played a playoff matinee game. Everybody’s in the same boat,” Hyman said. “We’ve got to come out strong. We’re at home. I’m sure the crowd will be excited. We’ll be ready. There’s no excuses. Doesn’t matter if you play in five overtimes and you’ve got to play in two days.”

No overtimes were needed in the first two games in Dallas, where the high-scoring Oilers felt good about five of their six periods and showed again that they can indeed play defense.

Edmonton has shutout wins in three of its last four games, including Stuart Skinner’s 25 saves in the 3-0 win over Dallas on Friday night after he blanked Vegas in the final two games to wrap up the second round. The only real blemish in that span was the Stars’ five-goal third period for a 6-3 win in the series opener when they went ahead with three power-play goals in a span of 51/2 minutes.

“Stu was phenomenal. The chances they did get, he shut the door, obviously,” Hyman said. “And, yeah, special teams is really important in the playoffs. We’ve been probably one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the playoffs so far. If we can shore up the special teams, which we’re usually pretty good at, we’re in a good spot.”

Even though it was the fourth time this postseason the Stars got shut out, they gave up a power-play goal less than 6 minutes into the game and the two Edmonton goals just over a minute apart in the second period came off a blocked shot and then a tip at the front of the net.

“We had some looks, too, where (Skinner) made some saves. Sure, when you get shut out, you can do a better job in front of their goalie,” DeBoer said.