In this article
DALLAS — Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan pulled Jake Oettinger one minute into the third period Thursday night, right after Kyle Connor scored the Winnipeg Jets’ sixth goal.
Oettinger allowed 6 goals on 27 shots in 41 minutes of the 8-3 loss at American Airlines Center. The 6 goals were a season high.
He entered the night with a 1.99 goals-against average, fourth-best in the NHL. Oettinger is now 9-4-1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage in 14 starts.
His save percentage was .939 through his first eight starts. Over his last six, it is .842, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Jake Oettinger Says It Is Not The First Time He Has Been Pulled
Oettinger credited the Stars’ first period and pointed to the high-end skill on Winnipeg’s roster when he described the second.
Oettinger said it looked as if Dallas “thought they were just going to roll over and let us win.”
Oettinger said it was not the first time in his career that he had been pulled. He said he cares more about his 4-2-0 record over his last six starts than his numbers, and he does not think anything has changed for him.
In his official postgame interview, Oettinger talked about not being good enough, Dallas not answering Winnipeg’s attack, and moving on to the next game. Gulutzan said the Stars did not get saves.
Casey DeSmith stopped 1 of 3 shots in relief. Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Koepke scored 14 seconds apart in the final five minutes.
5 Winnipeg Goals Beat Oettinger In The Second Period
Winnipeg put 14 shots on goal in the second period and scored on 5 of them. Dallas managed 9 shots in the period.
Dylan Samberg scored first, 1:11 in, after the puck bounced off Stars players to the point and his shot beat Oettinger. Mark Scheifele tied it at 7:03 after Oettinger made the first save and the rebound slid into the slot.
Dawson Mercer tied it 3-3 at 13:55, snapping a shot glove side off a relay from Cole Perfetti. Scheifele scored the go-ahead goal on the power play at 18:12, 1:18 after Jamie Benn went to the box for slashing. Mercer made it 5-3 on a 2-on-1 with nine seconds left.
Dallas played most of the night with 5 defensemen. Lian Bichsel left in the first period with a lower-body injury after 1:14 of ice time. Miro Heiskanen missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury.
Dallas entered Thursday having allowed 39 goals, the fewest in the NHL.
The Stars host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT and the Florida Panthers on Sunday at 7 p.m. CT.
Join the conversation