Jake Oettinger was benched just over eight minutes into the Dallas Stars` decisive 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. Coach Pete DeBoer`s decision to remove his starting goalie with the team`s season in jeopardy sparked questions, and he offered an explanation post-game.
The Stars struggled throughout the playoffs when attempting to play with a lead, often falling behind first in 15 of their 18 games. Game 5 was a clear example, as the Oilers netted goals on their initial two shots.
While Oettinger wasn`t entirely to blame for the early goals, DeBoer chose to replace his primary netminder with backup Casey DeSmith. Post-game, DeBoer stated his intention was to energize the team, combined with concerns about Oettinger`s track record against the Oilers in previous playoffs.
DeBoer elaborated: “The primary reason for pulling a goalie is always to try and spark your group. We had discussed extensively trying to play with the lead in this series. Obviously, we found ourselves in a 2-0 hole immediately. I didn`t take that decision lightly, and I didn`t place all the blame on Jake.”
He continued: “But the reality is, looking back at last year`s playoffs, he`s lost six out of seven games against Edmonton. This game saw two shots and two goals allowed in an elimination situation. It was partly intended to spark and awaken our team, and partly acknowledging that the status quo hadn`t been effective, based on a substantial sample size.”
Shortly after entering the game, DeSmith surrendered a third goal on a soft shot from Jeff Skinner that found its way through him, extending the deficit to 3-0. The subsequent goals against DeSmith—a skillful shot by Connor McDavid and a fortunate bounce off a pass attempt—were arguably not his responsibility.
Despite DeBoer`s rationale, many Stars fans might forever ponder whether the outcome would have differed had Oettinger remained in net.
Could he have stopped Skinner`s weak shot? Would he have made a crucial save on McDavid? Could he have reacted quicker to the unfortunate deflection off Esa Lindell`s skate?
DeBoer referenced a limited seven-game sample size (Oettinger`s record vs. Edmonton) to support his decision. This contrasts sharply with Oettinger`s impressive performance over a much larger sample: 174 games played over the last three seasons, where his 48.1 goals saved above average ranks sixth across the entire NHL, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Regardless of Oettinger`s specific postseason history against Edmonton, the Dallas organization relies on him to be the goaltender who wins these critical games. They are certainly compensating him to be that player, and arguably, he should have been given the opportunity to overcome a difficult start.
Throughout this postseason, Oettinger maintained a positive goals saved above average of 3.76, even factoring in Thursday night`s poor outing. Without his contributions, the Stars likely wouldn`t have reached this stage of the playoffs. Notably, only four teams scored fewer goals per game than Dallas`s 2.5 average, and three of those teams were eliminated in just five games in the first round.
The Stars required a spark much earlier in the series, but it never materialized. Pulling Oettinger in Game 5 was ultimately not the answer, short of him magically playing forward and scoring. DeBoer should have trusted his franchise goaltender to remain in the net. Instead, he and Oettinger effectively went down together, with the goalie observing from the bench.
