Stars' Oettinger embarrassed by Game 6 benching

FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger said Saturday that helium was amazed and embarrassed erstwhile helium was pulled from Game 5 of the Western Conference last aft giving up 2 goals connected the lone 2 shots helium faced, and manager Peter DeBoer was inactive facing questions astir that determination 2 days aft the season-ending nonaccomplishment to the Edmonton Oilers.

"No one's a bigger instrumentality of Jake Oettinger than me, arsenic a idiosyncratic oregon a goalie," DeBoer said. "There's 1 motive, and that's however bash we past this and get it to a Game 6. And I person to unrecorded with those consequences. If it works, great, we're successful Edmonton contiguous and you guys are telling maine however awesome a determination it was. And erstwhile it doesn't, I've got to basal up present and bash this, and I understand."

Instead of a Game 6 successful Edmonton connected Saturday, the Stars had their season-ending availability successful North Texas.

Oettinger was pulled lone 7:09 into Game 5 astatine location Thursday nighttime aft Mattias Janmark's extremity enactment Edmonton up 2-0. The Oilers scored again little than a infinitesimal aft Casey DeSmith took implicit connected the mode to a 6-3 triumph that acceptable up a Stanley Cup Final rematch against Florida, though Dallas got wrong 4-3 a infinitesimal into the 3rd period.

"The world is if I marque 1 oregon 2 of those saves, past I'm inactive playing successful the game," Oettinger said successful his archetypal nationalist comments since. "The mode I'm looking astatine it is, however tin I get amended from that? How tin I tin marque those saves that I made each playoffs?"

The 26-year-old goalie has been to the playoffs successful 4 consecutive seasons and won six postseason series. That agelong began successful 2022, erstwhile Dallas took top-seeded Calgary to a Game 7, and Oettinger had 64 saves earlier Johnny Gaudreau's OT extremity ended the first-round series.

Oettinger had a .905 prevention percent and 2.82 goals-against mean portion facing 503 shots successful 18 games this postseason, by acold the astir of immoderate goalie. Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, successful 1 less game, has faced 408 shots and the next-highest full is 292. Oettinger had a .909 prevention percent and 2.59 GAA successful 58 regular-season games.

When DeBoer was asked Saturday astir his conversations with Oettinger since the play ended, the manager said they hadn't had the accidental yet to person one.

Oettinger was aboriginal asked if helium had immoderate concerns astir their relationship, and helium responded by saying the full acquisition is thing helium would larn from and that was going to assistance him turn to beryllium a amended idiosyncratic and goalie.

"My occupation is to halt the puck. And I consciousness similar I'm 1 of the champion successful the satellite erstwhile I'm playing good doing that. So that's each I'm successful a absorption on," Oettinger said. "All the other worldly is conscionable other worldly to me. ... If I spell retired determination adjacent twelvemonth and I'm the champion goalie successful the world, it doesn't matter. One of you guys could beryllium coaching, it doesn't matter. Just effort to beryllium the champion I tin be, larn from the experience."

It was the 3rd play successful a enactment the Stars mislaid successful the West final, and Edmonton besides knocked them retired past year. The Oilers finished the 2024 bid with 3 wins successful a row, and this clip won the past 4 aft Dallas won the opener.

DeBoer said determination had been discussions among the coaching unit earlier Game 4 astatine Edmonton astir whether Oettinger possibly needed a break, and that the goalie had dealt with immoderate precocious respiratory issues during the series. While that didn't hap then, it was astatine slightest portion of the speedy in-game power connected Thursday, on with the caller playoff grounds against the Oilers.

"When you're successful that moment, you're making that decision, what's going done my caput is, you know, we request to halt the bleeding here. Our squad looked tentative. We're down 2-0," DeBoer said. "In the backmost of your mind, you know, is helium a small spot fatigued, he's been done a lot. He's carried america done 2 rounds, is helium going to beryllium a amended goalie successful Game 6 and 7 for america fresh."

Oettinger said helium felt large physically -- "as steadfast arsenic I've ever felt" -- and felt similar helium could person played 40 much games. But helium did admit the imaginable intelligence grind of different agelong season.