No matter who came away with the victory in Game 7 between the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars, someone was going to leave the Scotiabank Saddledome disappointed.
Unfortunately for Jake Oettinger, a spectacular performance was not enough to help the Stars complete the upset against the Flames. The 23-year-old made 64 saves but could not keep Johnny Gaudreau’s shot late in overtime out of the net but he should leave the ice with his head held high.
To say that the Stars were fortunate to have made it to overtime would be an understatement considering Oettinger saw a lot of rubber in this game. According to Sportsnet Stats, Calgary had a plus-39 shots differential on Dallas which was the most a team has had in a Game 7 in NHL history.
Oettinger’s 64 saves were also the second-most made in a Game 7 with Kelly Hrudey stopping 73 shots with the New York Islanders against the Washington Capitals in 1987. Calgary also finished the game with 134 shot attempts
“I’ve never been more motivated than I am right now,” Oettinger told reporters after the game. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that I get this opportunity again and I’ll make sure I’m on the other side of it the next time.
“I have a lot of stuff I want to work on. I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of where I’m going to be one day. That excites me.”
Safe to say, the Lakeville, Minn., native reminded the Stars why he was worthy of being the 26th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. It was an impressive draft for Dallas considering they selected three franchise players with their first three picks.
The future is certainly bright for Oettinger who finished the series with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. In just his second season in the NHL, Oettinger made 46 stars and had a 30-15-1 record with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
