Heika’s Take: Stars survive another wild one, top Avalanche in shootout win

The Stars do make things interesting.

For the second consecutive game, the lads in Victory Green wandered into a foreign barn and grabbed two points against a highly-ranked opponent. But Saturday’s 5-4 shootout win over Colorado was a little different than the 5-4 regulation victory over Winnipeg on Thursday, coach Glen Gulutzan said.

“This one leaves a little sour taste in your mouth,” Gulutzan said of a game where the Stars were outshot 39-27 and needed an otherworldly performance from goalie Jake Oettinger. “We learned we have to get better.”

That said, the Stars sit 2-0-0 on the year and play host to Minnesota on Tuesday to keep this gauntlet through the Central Division to start the season going. And, yes, they understand the task at hand.

“I think the biggest thing is we need to get to another level,” said forward Wyatt Johnston, who finished with a goal and five shots on net. “They took it to us for a lot of that game.”

Colorado finished with an 84-41 advantage in shot attempts and spent long stretches of time in the Stars’ end of the ice. The Avalanche forced Dallas into 25 blocked shots and logged more than nine minutes in power play time. It was a lopsided affair for long stretches.

But Dallas used its skill to cash in on some great opportunities, and that frustrated a home team that very much wanted to make up for a series loss to the Stars in last year’s playoffs.

“It feels like a playoff game when you’re in there,” said Oettinger, who has defeated Colorado in each of the past two postseasons. “That’s the nice part of playing two of the best teams in the league – they show you where you’re at. We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on.”

That said, there have been good things.

Jason Robertson had a goal, five shots on goal and scored on his first shootout attempt of the season. He clearly elevated his game in a battle with old teammate Scott Wedgewood. Thomas Harley had a goal and assist and played a team-high 25:52. Nathan Bastian scored his first goal as a Star by going to the net and cashing in a nice pass from Esa Lindell. Justin Hryckowian had a fight standing up for teammate Miro Heiskanen after the defenseman was rammed into the boards, something Gulutzan said was a goal this season.

There were great storylines all over the ice. Former Colorado players Mikko Rantanen and Matt Duchene were booed when they touched the puck. Rantanen finished with the shootout winning goal.

There was plenty of good there.

And, of course, Oettinger was spectacular. In addition to giving the Stars the chance to even get to overtime, he had a couple of big stops in the 3-on-3 and then stopped two of the shooters in the shootout, including Nathan MacKinnon to end the game.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen a goalie performance like that since I saw Jake Oettinger against Calgary,” Gulutzan said in reference to Oettinger’s historic outing against the Flames in the 2022 First Round. “He stole us the game, plain and simple.”

That’s a great sign for the 26-year-old goalie, who will be in the mix to represent Team USA at the 2026 Olympics. It’s also a great sign for a team that needs to stay ahead of Colorado and Winnipeg in the battle for first place in the Central Division.

While it’s tough to see those things as positives, the Stars have weathered a frantic end to a 5-4 win in Winnipeg and then held on through an overtime and shootout in Colorado. That’s some good scar tissue that should come in handy as the season goes along.

“There is growth that has to take place,” Gulutzan said, indicating the problems included losing a lot of puck battles, as well as losing some structure. “We have to do a whole bunch of things better.”

And that’s the good part of this – they definitely can.

“It’s going to take time,” Harley said of adjusting to Gulutzan’s new system. “But I think we expect more of ourselves.”

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.