Oettinger makes 27 saves as Stars blank Jets in key division game

Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger went from the outhouse to the penthouse.

After surrendering six goals in a 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames in his last outing, Oettinger rebounded by stopping all 27 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season, leading the Stars to a 2-0 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

“That’s goaltending in a nutshell,” Oettinger said. “You feel like you’re at rock bottom, then get a shutout a couple of days later. So, I’m going to enjoy it tonight and then I don’t know what I’ve got ahead of me.”

Forwards Tyler Seguin and Joe Pavelski scored for Dallas (13-5-2).

“It was a good bounceback game and it started with (Oettinger), too,” Pavelski said. “He was our best player tonight, by far. He made a lot of big saves. Both goalies made good saves.”

The Stars killed two critical two-men short infractions. The second one came in the third period for 44 seconds while they were protecting a 1-0 lead.

“Yeah, that was the turning point in the game, both ways,” Oettinger said. “We’ve got some guys who take a lot of pride in those situations and you’re not going to see them on NHL Network, but that’s what it takes to win — and we’ve got a lot of guys like that.” 

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 of 21 shots for Winnipeg (12-7-2) before only 11,439 fans at Canada Life Centre. It snapped a four-game winning streak for Hellebuyck. It was Winnipeg's second consecutive loss. 

“Oettinger made a lot of big saves and they blocked a lot of good shots,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele. “I thought we played pretty solid. 

“Oettinger made a lot of big saves tonight, but so did (Hellebuyck). He made a lot of big saves that kept us in it and kept it close. So, both goalies played well, and we just needed to find a way to score.”

Seguin put the game away late in the third period. He converted a pass from Mason Marchment, who flipped the puck over fallen defenceman Nate Schmidt and potted the puck into the empty side of the net. 

The Stars had opened the scoring with a controversial goal about midway through the second period. Pavelski was set up alone in front of the empty side of the net by forward Roope Hintz and scored. Forward Jason Robertson also assisted. The Jets challenged for goalie interference as Pavelski had hit Hellebuyck in the face mask with his stick just before scoring. Pavelski said he was unaware that his stick hit Hellebuyck until he saw the replay. 

The Jets lost the challenge and were charged with a delay-of-game penalty. 

The Stars scored just after killing their first two-man short penalty for 68 seconds. 

“They’re four-point games, and you’re on the road and that team’s been playing well,” said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. “Everyone knows what was at stake tonight, and I thought we deserved to win.”

NOTES

In a touching pre-game ceremony for Hockey Fights Cancer, the Jets introduced five children who have fought cancer, some still fighting it … Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck recorded his franchise-leading 33rd shutout on Friday against the Florida Panthers — the second-most in the NHL since he came into the league in 2015-16 … Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti entered the game having scored at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games. … The Stars recently scored seven of their eight goals against the Minnesota Wild on special teams (five on the power play and two short-handed). They are just the sixth NHL team to accomplish that feat. Only the Boston Bruins with eight back in 1975 have ever had more.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host the Edmonton Oilers in the second of a four-game homestand on Thursday.

Stars: Play in Calgary against the Flames on Thursday.