'It means everything to me': Oettinger savors victory in first NHL start

DALLAS -- In a lot of ways, Jake Oettinger was in the perfect place Thursday night.

The 22-year-old goalie had spent half a year with the Stars in preparation for his first NHL start. So as much as there were obvious nerves in such a huge situation, Oettinger was surrounded by teammates who were trying to do everything they could to make it work.

MIKE HEIKA: [Stars earning their wins -- and respect -- after unblemished homestand to open season]

"I'm just happy to get the first one behind me and continue to build confidence every time I'm in there," Oettinger said. "Thankful the guys played so well in front of me and made my job really easy tonight. I've been around this group for a long time and it's such a good group of guys.

"I'm really lucky to be in the position I am. To have such a great group of guys in front of me who played so well for me tonight, it means everything to me."

Oettinger faced 22 shots and stopped 19. He was steady in recording his first NHL win -- a 7-3 victory against the Red Wings -- and he learned a lot in a game that was closer than the final score. Dallas was up 4-1 in the third period, when Detroit scored twice in a matter of five minutes. That made it a one-goal game with seven minutes to play, and certainly had to raise the nerve level for Oettinger.

But the product of Boston University said he relied on some lessons he has learned, and it all worked out.

"I'm learning from two of the best guys in the league in Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin," Oettinger said. "Both of those guys are just so good at resetting, mentally. Just being able to watch Dobby so closely is just an invaluable experience for me. He never gets rattled. He's just out there playing and having fun. Goals are going to go in; that's part of the game and part of the position. The really good goalies and the ones that stick around for a long time are the ones that can let one in and you won't be able to tell after that."

Oettinger should get a chance to test that this season. Bishop is out until March or April following off-season knee surgery, so Oettinger will be leaned upon heavily as the backup in this condensed schedule. One of the reasons the coaching staff wanted to play him Thursday is because they'll probably have to go right back to him Saturday or Sunday in Carolina when the team plays a back-to-back.

The fact the Stars got this game out of the way at home with his parents in the stands was again some nice timing for Oettinger. Now, it's down to the job of being a professional athlete.
"The ones that did go in, he had absolutely zero chance on," Bowness said when asked to assess Oettinger. "He made the saves that he had to make. He played very comfortably and very confidently, and the guys played very well in front of him. I thought he did a great job for us."

And now he'll try to do it again.

"We certainly didn't want to let him sit here too long," Bowness said. "He's got to play. He's going to play games."

Pumped-up Dellandrea scores 'special' first goal

Ty Dellandrea has played in all four games for the Stars this season, and has been a fixture, playing 15:48 per game.

On Thursday, he got his first goal and first assist. The goal was pretty spectacular and pretty important, as Dellandrea drove to the net and tapped in a perfectly timed pass from Miro Heiskanen that restored a two-goal lead for Dallas with 5:08 left in the game.

"I knew whoever was coming down had a shot or a back door pass, so I tried to get to the back door quick," Dellandrea said of the mix between Heiskanen and Alexander Radulov that spurred his decision to charge the net. "It was a tight gap, but it was an incredible play by Miro."

Dellandrea skated to the corner and jumped into Heiskanen's arms in what was an emotional celebration.

"It was a lot of emotion," Dellandrea said. "Once I saw it going in, I was pretty pumped. It was an unbelievable play by Miro. Emotions took over, and I gave him a big hug. Yeah, it was special."

Notable

• Tanner Kero had two assists -- his first points since the 2017-18 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. Kero, 28, now has eight goals among 24 points in 75 career games.
• Andrew Cogliano scored a goal, the 400th point of his NHL career. Cogliano has 166 goals and 234 assists in 1,016 NHL games.
• The Stars currently lead the NHL in goals per game (4.75), goals against average (1.50), and power play success (54.6 percent).
• The Stars were without Jamie Benn (lower body), Blake Comeau (COVID protocol), Joel Kiviranta (lower body), and Roope Hintz (lower body). They had an off-day Friday and should know more about the injured players on Saturday morning.

Stars at Hurricanes

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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, and listen to his podcast.