Heika’s Take: Stars cruise to dominant 4-0 shutout win over Blackhawks

The Stars did what they were supposed to do Saturday night in Chicago.

Which was kind of nice.

Playing a young Blackhawks team that is still looking to find its way and form an identity, the veteran lineup in Victory Green put a solid game on the ice in a 4-0 victory. Dallas had a 32-19 advantage in shots on goal, twice the scoring chances, and a really consistent game from a forward group that welcomed back Wyatt Johnston after a two-game illness absence and had its “normal” lines together once again.

Mix in Jake Oettinger’s third shutout of the young season and a two-goal game for Arttu Hyry, and you had a pretty great night.

“It’s nice when you have a methodical game,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. “We were patient even when it was 0-0, we got a big save on a breakaway early by Jake, and we stayed with our game and got rewarded.”

Oettinger is having the best start of his career. He is 3-2-1 with a 1.00 GAA and .952 save percentage. He’s been a savior for a team that is 27th in scoring at 2.38 goals per game, and he is proving to everyone who doubted him after a first-round exit last season that he took the commitment to be better this season very seriously.

“It’s a hard game, because not a lot of shots and then a breakaway early,” Gulutzan said. “It kind of challenges the goalie mentally. He’s been real strong in that area. He’s carrying himself a little different, so he’s on the right path.”

Oettinger said he feels in the zone and is getting great help from his teammates. Dallas is second in shots against per game at 21.6 and games like Saturday’s 19 are pretty routine right now.

“The guys played really well in front of me,” Oettinger said. “When guys are committed to playing defense, that’s what happens.”

The Stars also found a way to create offense from their defensive play. Jason Robertson had a goal off a nice transition play in the first period, but it was negated on an offside review. Then, instead of letting that bog him down, Robertson came back and scored a power play goal off a nice give-and-go with Mikko Rantanen early in the second period.

“We just entered the offensive zone and his passes are pretty top notch,” Robertson said. “Mikko is a passer and I was looking to find space and I just got it back and it went in.”

That’s a simplification of the process, but the Stars made things look simple. Hyry and Sam Steel got a 2-on-1 around 14 minutes into the second period and Hyry finished that one off. Then Nils Lundkvist found Hyry with a great breakout pass early in the third, and Hyry finished that one too. The 25-year-old forward from Finland now has three goals in the past two games.

“You can tell he looks very comfortable in practice, almost dominant,” Gulutzan said. “That’s kind of the first step and as that confidence grows, you can see the benefits.”

Robertson said he was impressed with the checking line forward in a shootout win in Colorado and on Saturday, when he had five shots on goal and went 9-for-14 in the faceoff circle.

“These past two games were fantastic, not even including the goals,” Robertson said. “The overtime last game, the big D zone draws, penalty killing, everything. The goals are a bonus, but he’s playing a solid role and I hope he keeps it going. When you’re hot, stay hot.”

That is the plan for the Stars, who added a fourth goal from Roope Hintz against Chicago.

Dallas will play its next six games at home and would love to improve on a 4-3-1 record with some home cooking.

“We’ve got two great wins in a row, and it’s a good homestand for us,” Oettinger said. “We started out slow, but now we have a chance to get our record to where it should be.”

Gulutzan said there is a purpose to the homestand. The Stars are getting new forward David Perron in and also need to get a more consistent effort on home ice, so there will be a lot of intention in the practices.

“We’re pretty good on the road,” Gulutzan said. “I think one area of improvement for us is our home record and how we start at home, so that’s one area that we’re going to harp on this week.”

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 X @MikeHeika.