Dallas Stars G Jake Oettinger staying steady as playoff struggles re-emerge
After an unsightly finish to the postseason final yr, Jake Oettinger struggled out of the gate to start out the 2026 playoffs on Saturday.
The Dallas Stars netminder allowed 5 targets on 28 pictures in a 6-1 blowout loss to the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their first-round sequence. Oettinger’s struggles within the 2025 playoffs had been well-documented with then-head coach Peter DeBoer pulling the netminder early of their elimination loss the to Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 the Western Conference Final.
“Once I leave the rink, I never think about it again,” Oettinger stated of his response to shedding Game 1 towards the Wild. “Even if we had won Game 1, it would’ve been the same process.”
Jake Oettinger on his response after Game 1: “Once I leave the rink, I never think about it again. Even if we had won Game 1, it would’ve been the same process.”
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) April 20, 2026
Oettinger posted a 35-12-6 document within the common season with a .899 save share and a 2.59 goals-against common. He completed the playoffs final yr with a 9-8 document with a .905 save share, struggling towards the Oilers, permitting 14 targets within the first 4 video games of the sequence. He was pulled simply over seven minutes into Game 5 after permitting two targets on two pictures within the eventual 6-3 loss.
DeBoer was fired per week after the playoff elimination, with Stars basic supervisor Jim Nill admitting “the events that took place (with Oettinger), that’s a component of it.”
Gulutzan stated after Game 1 he didn’t contemplate pulling Oettinger as he did not blame on the targets on him. He did, nonetheless, go away the door open on Sunday to contemplate a goalie change in some unspecified time in the future to Casey DeSmith.
“It would have to be something,” Gulutzan stated of constructing a change. “We look at game to game, so I’m not going to fish ahead to see what happens, but everything is on the table come playoff time it doesn’t matter if it’s personnel or what it is. You’re just trying to win a game. We don’t want to mix and match too much. We lost Game 1. We’ve got to bounce back.
“Like I maintain saying, there weren’t many guys on the prime of their recreation yesterday. I totally anticipate them to be higher tomorrow.”
The Stars, who have reached the Western final in each of the past three years, finished second in Central Division in their first season under Gulutzan, setting up tough their matchup with the Wild. Dallas finished third overall in the NHL standings, while the Wild finished seventh in the league and third in the Western Conference.
