Heika's Take: Oettinger carries Stars to 3-2 victory over Wild

I'm not sure who the patron saint of huge saves is, but on Sunday it certainly could have been Jake Oettinger.
The young goalie born under the North Stars returned to his native Minnesota land and put on a show in Game 4 of the playoffs. Before a small gathering of his loyal supporters and a huge crowd of hostile fans, Oettinger came up with 32 saves in a 3-2 Stars victory over the Wild that evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2, and gives his team new life.

"He was our best player," said Stars coach Pete DeBoer. "And he had to be."

Oettinger propped up his teammates during a slow start and then hung on during a furious finish. In between, his teammates provided some key plays to give him the cushion he would need at the end of the game. Tyler Seguin scored twice on the power play and Evgenii Dadonov added a pretty goal in transition and that was enough for a Stars team who scored just once in Game 3.
Oettinger had been pretty good in the first three games, but on Sunday he was spectacular. In addition to big breakaway stops on Kirill Kaprizov and Marcus Foligno, he slammed the door with a huge save on Marcus Johansson in the dying seconds while sliding to his left to close what appeared to be an open net. The stop sent shivers through the building, which included Oettinger's family.
The Lakeville, Minnesota native always has a big crowd of family in attendance and he said he knew they were on the edge of their seats in that game.
"I'm sure they were 10 times as nervous as I was," Oettinger said with a smile. "I feel bad for them sometimes. They're way more nervous than me and support me through this."

Oettinger has been having a great career so far. A first round draft pick of the Stars in 2017, he took over as the team's No. 1 goalie midway through last season. He helped Dallas to Game 7 overtime against Calgary in the playoffs, before losing on a perfect shot. He vowed to come back even better this season, and he posted some of the best goaltending numbers in franchise history. This earned him a showdown against the team he cheered for as a kid, in the same building where he played the state high school hockey tournament. So, getting a win like he did in Game 4 was huge.
"It starts with Jake and ends with Jake, especially tonight," Seguin said. "He was phenomenal. He makes the big saves, especially on the road in this rink. He loves these moments. He believes in himself, and we have all the confidence in the world with him. So, he's the star tonight."

Seguin wasn't far off. The Stars power play has been crucial in this series, in large part because Minnesota is playing a physical game. The Wild are making some huge hits, but as a result, they are also handing Dallas some man advantage opportunities. Dallas didn't cash in during Game 3, but they did on Sunday.
"We didn't make them pay for taking penalties last game," DeBoer said. "We wanted to make sure we did tonight."
The Wild had some problems with the calls, especially Foligno, who was called for two penalties that led to the two power play goals. But the officiating has been debated throughout the series, and Dallas believes it will continue to get power play opportunities if Minnesota continues to be physical. The key then is scoring when they have the power play. Seguin set up in front of the net again and scored again (as he did in Game 2) on a scramble in front. With Joe Pavelski in concussion protocol and out of the lineup, Seguin has taken the net-front position on the power play. On this one, a Jason Robertson shot deflected off Roope Hintz and then off Seguin before slipping through in the second period. Seguin's second goal was a nice shot from the slot with 3:31 remaining in the third to give Dallas a 3-1 lead.
Dadonov scored in transition while coming out of the penalty box early in the third period to make it 2-0, and former Stars defenseman John Klingberg made it 2-1 with six minutes remaining.
"Just tried to hide it as much as possible, just use the bodies as a screen, just get a puck through," Dadonov said of his goal.
There was tension throughout, and it seemed like Seguin created breathing room late in the game. However, Minnesota pulled its goalie and scored with the extra skater to make it 3-2. This opened the door for a furious rally at the end, but Oettinger was up to the task.
"I just tried to get over there as quickly as I can, so luckily it stayed up," Oettinger said of the shot.
That's one explanation. The other is that on a special night in St. Paul, Oettinger relied heavily on his own skills and a little good fortune to come up huge for his friends, his family, and his teammates.
"Every guy on our team is going to have moments where they need to step up in these playoffs," Oettinger said. "So, it was my turn tonight."
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