Jake Oettinger Expresses Surprise and Shame After Being Replaced in Conference Final
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger shared his surprise and embarrassment after being substituted in Game 5 of the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers, after conceding two goals on the first two shots he faced.
“Nobody is a bigger fan of Jake Oettinger than me, as a person or as a goalie,” stated coach Peter DeBoer. “There’s a reason, and it’s how we survived this and got to Game 6. And I have to live with those consequences.”
Peter DeBoer
Instead of a Game 6 in Edmonton, the Stars concluded their season in North Texas.
Oettinger was replaced at 7:09 of Game 5 at home, after a goal by Mattias Janmark put Edmonton up 2-0. The Oilers scored again shortly after Casey DeSmith took over, en route to a 6-3 victory that set up a Stanley Cup Final rematch against Florida.
“The reality is that if I make one or two of those saves, then I’m still playing in the game,” Oettinger commented. “The way I see it is, how can I improve from that? How can I make those saves that I made in all the playoffs?”
Jake Oettinger
The 26-year-old goalie has participated in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and has won six postseason series. That period began in 2022, when Dallas took Calgary, the top-seeded team, to a Game 7, and Oettinger made 64 saves before Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime goal ended the first-round series.
Oettinger had a save percentage of .905 and a goals-against average of 2.82, facing 503 shots in 18 games this postseason, the most of any goaltender. Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, in one less game, has faced 408 shots, and the next highest total is 292. Oettinger had a save percentage of .909 and a GAA of 2.59 in 58 regular season games.
When asked about his conversations with Oettinger since the season ended, the coach said they hadn’t had the chance to have one yet.
Subsequently, Oettinger was asked if he had any concerns about their relationship, and he responded by saying that the whole experience is something he would learn from and that it would help him grow to be a better person and goalie.
“My job is to stop the puck. And I feel like I’m one of the best in the world when I play well doing that. So that’s what I focus on,” Oettinger said. “Everything extra is just extra stuff for me… If I go out next year and I’m the best goalie in the world, it doesn’t matter. One of you could be training, it doesn’t matter. I just try to be the best I can be, learn from the experience.”
Jake Oettinger
It was the third consecutive season that the Stars lost in the Western final, and Edmonton also eliminated them last year. The Oilers finished the 2024 series with three straight wins, and this time they won the last four after Dallas won the first game.
DeBoer explained that there were discussions among the coaching staff before Game 4 in Edmonton about whether Oettinger needed a rest, and that the goalie had been dealing with some upper respiratory issues during the series. While that didn’t happen then, it was at least part of the quick change in Thursday’s game, along with the recent playoff history against the Oilers.
“When you’re in that moment, you’re making that decision, what comes to mind is, you know, we need to stop the bleeding here. Our team seemed indecisive. We’re down 2-0,” DeBoer said. “In the back of your mind, you know, is he a little fatigued, has he been through a lot? He’s gotten us through two rounds, will he be a better goalie in Games 6 and 7 for us fresh?”
Peter DeBoer
Oettinger said he felt physically great, “as healthy as I’ve felt,” and felt he could have played 40 more games. But he acknowledged the potential mental toll of another long season.
