First Shift: Stars look to wrap back-to-back on high note vs Islanders

Jake Oettinger’s season has been . . . well . . . interesting.

The 25-year-old goalie has had some ups and downs and is posting numbers below his normal standard at 13-9-2 with a 2.96 GAA and .904 save percentage. Mix into that the longest injury absence of his career (one month for a groin injury) and you have some challenges.

On Thursday, Oettinger faced one of his greatest tests as Philadelphia outshot the Stars 28-4 in the first 30 minutes and eventually took a 5-1 win. It was a tough night for Oettinger, but also a reassuring one. He kept the Stars in it until the third period, and he tested that injured groin to the max.

“It was a good test,” said Oettinger. “You never know what’s going to get thrown at you, it’s just part of the job. Sometimes, it’s almost harder when you’re in the other guy’s situation. So you just know you can’t control what’s going on in front of you, and you just try to react to it.”

Scott Wedgewood got the start against the Devils on Saturday and was brilliant, stopping 29 of 31. The Stars play back-to-back games, and Oettinger has traditionally been given the first game, but Wedgewood played for the Devils, has a strong history against his old team, and Oettinger faced all of those shots on Thursday.

“He was going to play one of the two,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said of Wedgewood. “His history with that team and he played well here last year. It gives Jake an extra day after he took a lot of shots.”

Oettinger’s return to a regular schedule is going to be tough. The Stars play three more games after Sunday before they take a break for the All-Star Game and Oettinger has been selected to perform in Toronto. So, he will adjust to that, get a break in, and then return for the stretch run.

“It kind of feels like the start of the season again – you’re not in the rhythm you would normally be in and you don’t have the things memorized that you’d like,” Oettinger said. “But I feel good and confident and I’m just going to try to get on a roll.”

Part of the return from injury that has been positive for Oettinger is that he felt good enough to practice and was able to work on a lot of details of his game at slow speed.

“The practice time is pretty rare at this point in the season because you have to save all of your energy for the games, so to have 10 days of practice . . . it was good,” he said. “You get to work on some of the things you might want to work on at this point in the year, muscle memory, there’s something to that. So I think I got better over that period and I feel like I’m in a good place.”

Key Numbers

4-0-1
Dallas is 4-0-1 on the second night of a back-to-back this season.

35.0
The Islanders allow the second most shots on goal per game in the NHL at 35.0 per game. They also are second worst in shot differential per game at -5.5.

20.8
The Islanders have the second most hits per game at 20.8. Dallas ranks 31st at 13.4 hits per game.

He Said It

“You want to give, especially the groups with history, as much runway as you can to try and get it together, but you’re halfway through the season now. It’s time to make some changes if things aren’t turning around.”

- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on his decision to break up the top line of Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Joe Pavelski a few games back.

Note: Prior to the game it was announced Wedgewood would be starting in goal instead. Oettinger was on the ice for warmups.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.