Heika's Take: Jake Oettinger's 64-save effort will never be forgotten

The Stars left everything on the ice Sunday in Calgary.
And there's something noble to that.
Dallas overcame the losses of Luke Glendening, Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa to injury, and still was able to force overtime in Game 7 against the Calgary Flames before losing 3-2 on a perfect shot by Johnny Gaudreau. It was a heartbreaking way to go out in the first round of the playoffs, but it also was a proud performance by a proud team.

"Everyone played their hearts out," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "As a coach, that's all you can ask. Your players give you everything they've got, and I'm proud of the effort they gave. I'm proud of the way we battled. They were a better team in the regular season, and they played well [on Sunday]. Give them credit."

The Stars ended their season in Game 7 overtime for the second time in the past four years. They also had a Game 7 overtime victory against Colorado in 2020 en route to the Stanley Cup Final. So, they understand the work that's required.
While the Flames were clearly the better team and finished with a 67-28 advantage in shots on goal (as well as a 134-59 edge in shot attempts), goalie Jake Oettinger was outstanding in keeping the game close. The 23-year-old in his first real playoff action, had a 1.81 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in the series. His save percentage is best in the NHL. His GAA ranks fourth.
"He played a hell of a game," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "Haven't seen too many like that. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have been close to overtime and having a chance to win."

Oettinger was nothing short of amazing at times, and it clearly helps pave the way for the Stars going forward. The young goalie played last season but was expected to do most of his work in the AHL this year. But after injuries to Ben Bishop, Anton Khudobin and Braden Holtby during the season, Oettinger took over and went 30-15-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .914 save percentage during the regular season. He earned the right to be the team's starter, and he stepped up even further in the postseason.
"Jake Oettinger's a franchise goalie, and he's going to get better," Bowness said. "He's a young guy, this is his first run through the playoffs and he's going to gain from his experience. The Dallas Stars are in good shape for a long time with Jake."
Oettinger was calm and confident throughout the game. Dallas took a 1-0 lead 40 seconds in on a goal by Benn, and then the Flames were able to tie things up in the second period. Vladislav Namestnikov made it 2-1 right away, but Calgary then struck back when Gaudreau fed Matthew Tkachuk for a one-timer. The score stayed that way until the 15:09 mark in overtime when Gaudreau threaded the perfect shot through a small corner in the top of the net.
"You go into overtime with Jake, you know it's going to take a perfect shot to beat him, and it was a perfect shot," Bowness said. "Johnny made a great shot right under the bar. You can't do anything about that."
Oettinger received heavy praise on social media throughout the league, and Flames players made a special effort to congratulate him in the handshake line. It was a huge step in the career of a young athlete.

"I've never been more motivated than I am right now," Oettinger said. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I get this opportunity again, and I'll make sure I'm on the other side of it the next time. I have a lot of stuff I want to work on. I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of where I'm going to be one day. That excites me."

The Stars could be a team in transition over the summer, as they might have to make adjustments to take the next step. However, Oettinger, Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson are a big part of the core going forward, and first-round draft pick Ty Dellandrea made a great impression in his first playoff game, logging just under 20 minutes.
It was a nice performance when you consider the pressure and the fact that Dallas had to pretty much shuffle every line to make up for the injuries. Hintz had an upper-body injury and then reacted poorly to the treatment, so he was a very late scratch. That forced the Stars to call on Denis Gurianov. Then, when Faksa was hurt, the players and coaches had to scramble again.
"We ran out of bodies, simple as that," Bowness said. "Everyone played their hearts out. We took a great team over there to overtime in Game 7. The young guys who played, they're going to get better from that."

The Flames finished with a plus-85 goal differential, best in the Western Conference. The Stars were the worst at minus-8. Still, Dallas was moments away from the winning the game in both the third period and overtime. In the end, though, the Flames had a 15-5 edge in overtime shots on goal and put too much pressure on Oettinger.
When it was all over, there was plenty of pride in the battle.
"We believed in each other," Benn said. "We thought we could win this series. Game 7 overtime, just one shot away."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.