Stars pull goalie Oettinger after Oilers score on 1st 2 shots on way to their 6-3 win in West final
Stars pull goalie Oettinger after Oilers score on 1st 2 shots on way to their 6-3 win in West final
Edmonton Oilers center Mattias Janmark (13) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during the first period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Edmonton Oilers center Mattias Janmark (13) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during the first period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Edmonton Oilers center Mattias Janmark (13) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during the first period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) scores against Dallas Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the third period of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Stars starting goalie Jake Oettinger was pulled after giving up two goals on the only two shots he faced in the first 7:09 of Game 5 in the Western Conference final, a 6-3 loss to Edmonton that ended their season.
The Stars called a timeout after Mattias Janmark’s short wrister that went under Oettinger’s legs to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead. Casey DeSmith took over in net after not playing since April 26.
“Well, anytime you pull a goalie, the reasoning is always to try and spark your group. So that was the No. 1 reason,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with the lead, and obviously we were in 2-0 hole right away. And you know what, I didn’t take that lightly, and I didn’t blame it all on Jake.”
Edmonton, which eliminated Dallas in the West final for the second year in a row, got its first goal when 40-year-old Corey Perry scored on a power play only 2:31 into the game. It was the 15th time in 18 games this postseason that the Stars gave up the first goal, including every one against the Oilers.
“The reality is we go back to last year’s playoffs, (Oettinger) has lost six of seven games to Edmonton, and we give up two goals on two shots in an elimination game,” DeBoer said. “It was partly to spark our team and wake them up and partly, you know, knowing that the status quo had not been working. That’s a pretty big sample size.”
Less than a minute after DeSmith came into the game, Jeff Skinner scored his first career playoff goal to put the Oilers up 3-0. DeSmith stopped 17 of 20 shots.
Oettinger was 9-8 with a .908 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against-average in the first 17 games this postseason. This was already the fourth consecutive postseason for the 26-year-old Oettinger, who has won six playoff series.
DeSmith’s only previous action this postseason had been in the third period of Game 4 in the first round against Colorado. He stopped 13 of 14 shots in Dallas’ 4-0 loss.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl