Heika’s Take: Oettinger shines bright as Stars dismantle Leafs in 5-1 win

Like a protective father taking his child for his first bike ride, Jake Oettinger held the Stars up for long stretches on Sunday night.

Then, when he figured they were ready to fly, Oettinger stood back and watched proudly as the lads in Victory Green brought home a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at American Airlines Center.

Oettinger finished with 27 saves, with many of them being of the 10-bell variety, and then handed the spotlight to the rest of the lineup on a night when the Stars had their dads and mentors in the building. Jason Robertson had a goal and got a rare win over his brother Nick, who plays for the Maple Leafs. Sam Steel got his fourth game-winning goal of the year, tipping in a great shot from Ilya Lyubushkin. Jamie Benn finished with a goal and an assist. Esa Lindell had two assists and helped kill four penalties. Alexander Petrovic was plus-3. Justin Hryckowian tallied his fifth goal of the season. And Mavrik Bourque had a goal disallowed before eventually scoring an empty-netter off an assist from Oettinger.

It seems the hockey gods wanted this night to be perfect.

So, as a large group of very personal “influencers” celebrated in the dressing room while preparing to fly to Detroit for the second half of the extended weekend experience, there was a real feeling of family in Starsland.

“It’s a special weekend for our hockey club,” Benn said. “I’m getting to meet a lot of new dads, some brothers and some mentors. A lot of familiar faces as well, and I think I am getting closer to the dads’ ages than some of my younger teammates.”

That is a big part of the fun. As Benn goes through his 17th NHL season, he and his dad Randy have experienced a few of these events. But for players like Hryckowian, Bourque, Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist, the experience is relatively new, and that changes it for the entire team.

So when all of the dads are in the building and all get to bond with each other, it is a great vibe.

“It's a good thing when they're having fun and their sons are having fun,” Gulutzan said. “That's what the game is about. When you see the dads in there, hopefully a few of the dads give their guys some pointers.”

Gulutzan said he could use the help after a rocky second period. Dallas was outshot 15-4, and Oettinger still allowed them to exit with a 1-0 lead. In the third period, Steel made it 2-0, but Toronto came right back and made it 2-1.

It was about that time that the rest of the lads picked up Oettinger and drove home the victory to put Dallas at 25-7-5 on the season.

“You never want to waste a goalie performance like that,” Gulutzan said. “I think we got a little loose and out of rhythm, and Jake had to save us. I thought the second was poor, one of our poorer periods. But Jake held the fort and made some saves.”

Oettinger said he was happy with his performance.

“I think it was a little bit of everything,” Oettinger said. “I got some saves early, that kind of got me into it. Our PK has been unbelievable. The guys that are on the kill take a ton of pride in that. I think that's been the difference maker for us this last stretch has been the penalty kill. Hopefully we can keep that going.”

Of course, the goaltending also has been great. Oettinger moves to 16-6-2 on the year with a 2.50 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

“Really solid, both of our goalies every night,” Benn said. “It would be nice to give them a night off and keep the other team to 20 or less shots, but we got the two points and he was unbelievable.”

Just like a father protecting his kids.

“Everyone wants to play well in front of their dad,” Oettinger said. “I think everyone just wants to play their best and it makes the plane ride a lot more fun tomorrow. Looking to get one more win with these guys, but whenever you can get family around, it's awesome.”

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.