Stars' offense flips switch for first home win since January

DALLAS --As much as the Stars are in need of some big individual efforts during a herky-jerky start to the 2020-21 campaign, those efforts have to come within the structure of solid team play.
Dallas got all of that and more Saturday in a 5-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Rookie goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 21 shots and recorded the first shutout of his career. Veteran Joe Pavelski tallied his ninth power play goal of the season, leading the NHL in that category. Oft-injured center Roope Hintz slid awkwardly into the end boards and looked to possibly aggravate the lower-body injury that has dogged him much this season, but then bounced back and played fantastic hockey while gathering a goal and assist.
And Swiss-Army-Knife forward Jason Dickinson came up with the just the kind of greasy goal this team has been seeking for a week, when he shoved in his fourth tally of the season just 2:24 into the first period, starting a chain reaction that helped end a four-game losing streak and gave the Stars their first home win since Jan. 28.

"We were going to take a win however we could get it right now, but there has been a lot of things we have liked with our five-on-five play over the last little stretch," said Pavelski. "Certain moments in games have stung us at times, but, yeah, it was good. Guys made some plays and had a good start. That went a long way for tonight and Oettinger was solid. When you win the special teams battle; that helps, and just overall it was a good team win."
The Dickinson goal was huge for a lot of reasons. One, the team wasn't scoring. Two, the team wasn't seizing control when it was playing well. Three, the team was inviting frustration because it couldn't turn good play into goals.
But on the Dickinson goal, the fourth line had a lot of jump, the puck got to the net, and Dickinson worked very hard to poke it past Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo.
Now, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella felt that Korpisalo had control and that Dickinson interfered by poking the pad of the goalie, and so he challenged the play. Officials reviewed the goal and let it stand. Because of the failed challenge, Columbus was issued a delay of game penalty and Dallas scored on the ensuing power play when Pavelski converted a nice pass from Hintz.

The Stars got two first-period goals in the span of 45 seconds when they had scored just six in the previous 18 games. It was the ultimate confidence boost.
"I know we don't get off to great starts, but tonight, as we mentioned this morning, we tried to build on our third period from the last game and we were able to do that," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "For Dickinson to score, I am thrilled for him because he has played great hockey for us. Now, you have a 1-0 lead and the power play has to keep the momentum, and it's great that they finally scored on it. So, we needed that."
After getting those two goals, though, Dallas settled into a familiar pace. There were some nice runs into the offensive zone, there were some smart back checks and wily dump-ins. But, really, the Stars looked all too much like that team that was unable to convert and all too happy to sit back on a two-goal lead.
But deep into the second period, defenseman Miro Heiskanen flipped in his second goal in as many games, and that pretty much sealed the win.

"When we get that 2-0 lead, you want that third and you want that cushion goal and we were able to get that, which was very, very important," Bowness said. "Miro got that third goal, and it was huge for a team that has struggled to score goals. It was huge for a team that has not been able to get that key goal to keep the momentum going."
After that, the biggest issue was getting a shutout for Oettinger. The 22-year-old backstop had a 2-0 lead in the third period in Florida on Feb. 25 when the Panthers scored three goals in four minutes and took not only the shutout but the win.
Oettinger said he was thinking about that in the third period Saturday.
"I learned a tough lesson in Florida last week," Oettinger said. "I think that helped me a lot going into this game, just knowing that nothing is guaranteed until the buzzer sounds at the end. So, I was just making sure I worked as hard as I could throughout the whole game."

That's pretty much been the story for Oettinger this whole season. Pushed into the NHL probably earlier than expected because of off-season knee surgery for Ben Bishop, Oettinger has eaten up the lessons and been impressive in every game. He moves to 3-1-3 on the year and continues to impress his teammates.
"He's just been solid," said Pavelski. "No. 1, he's just solid, and he looks confident. I think right from the start of the season to now there's been little things he has picked up on in his movements, and he has picked the pace up with the puck and the shots and you can see he is just playing confident. He has been aggressive and he's just really solid, and I think we have some good confidence in him as well."
Could Oettinger start again Sunday when the Stars host Nashville? Will Hintz be available to play on back-to-back nights? Can Dallas build on the momentum from Saturday? Well, the answer is pretty obvious when you know where the Stars are in terms of needing victories.
"Obviously, we can't mess around," said Dickinson. "We put ourselves in this position, and it's up to us now to take control of our destiny."

Up next

vs. Predators; Sunday 7 p.m. CT
American Airlines Center
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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, and listen to his podcast.