Jake Oettinger’s night ended early, and the Dallas Stars never found a way to steady the ship after that.
Glen Gulutzan lifted his starting goalie one minute into the third period Thursday night, immediately after Kyle Connor pushed the Winnipeg Jets to their sixth goal in an 8-3 loss at American Airlines Center. Oettinger finished with six goals allowed on 27 shots over 41 minutes, matching a season high.
The rough outing came with Oettinger carrying a 1.99 goals-against average, which ranked fourth in the NHL entering the night. He’s 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, but over his last six it has dropped to .842, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Afterward, Oettinger said the night wasn’t unfamiliar territory for him. He credited Dallas’ first period, then pointed to Winnipeg’s talent in the middle frame. He said it looked as if Dallas “thought they were just going to roll over and let us win.”
Oettinger also said this was not the first time in his career he has 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 said the Stars were not good enough, that they didn’t answer Winnipeg’s attack, and that it was time to move on to the next game. Gulutzan said the Stars did not get saves.
Casey DeSmith came on in relief and stopped one of three shots. Winnipeg added two more late goals, with Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Koepke scoring 14 seconds apart in the final five minutes.
The second period was where the game got away from Dallas. Winnipeg put 14 shots on goal in the frame and scored five times, while the Stars managed nine shots of their own.
Dylan Samberg opened the scoring 1:11 into the period 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 made it 3-3 at 13:55 with a glove-side shot off a relay from Cole Perfetti. Scheifele then scored the go-ahead goal on the power play at 18:12, 1:18 after Jamie Benn went to the box for slashing. Mercer added another with nine seconds left on a 2-on-1 to make it 5-3.
Dallas spent most of the night with five defensemen after Lian Bichsel left in the first period with a lower-body injury following 1:14 of ice time. Miro Heiskanen also missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury.
The loss stood out even more because the Stars had entered Thursday allowing 39 goals, the fewest in the NHL.
Dallas is back home Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. CT, then hosts the Florida Panthers on Sunday at 7 p.m. CT.
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Head coach Glen Gulutzan said Bichsels return is still uncertain while the team evaluates the injury, which adds another layer of concern to a defense corps that has been asked to absorb a lot of moving parts. Dallas may need to bring up a defenseman from one of its AHL affiliates just to fill the roster spot, a reminder that even a short absence can ripple through a lineup this tight. [Read more 🡒]
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Stars Just Made A Quiet Blue Line Move Worth Noticing
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Krys is not headed straight into the Dallas lineup, though, as the next step in his return sends him to the Texas Stars in the AHL. It is the kind of transaction that does not usually grab headlines, but for the Stars it keeps a development path open and gives the club another healthy body in the system while it sorts out the bigger picture on the back end. [Read more 🡒]