Oettinger makes 47 saves, Stars edge Sabres to win 4th straight

BUFFALO -- Jake Oettinger made 47 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

“I feel like I was due for that,” Oettinger said. “I got the bounces tonight, a couple posts, a couple of times I looked like a goalie in the ’80s. So, just got lucky sometimes. And that's what you need. I feel like I haven't got that up to this point, so, played good and got the bounces and got the ‘W.’”

Matt Duchene and Sam Steel scored for the Stars (31-13-6), who extended their winning streak to four games and point streak to six (5-0-1) in their first game since Jan. 27 after the All-Star break. 

“Good goalie win,” Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said. “No doubt. But we haven't had, many nights where we needed those this year. We haven't had a lot of them, but tonight he was by far our best player, and we needed him.”

Tage Thompson scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves for the Sabres (22-24-4), who had won two in a row.

“I think we outplayed them the entire game,” Thompson said. “… I thought defensively we were strong. We played a pretty tight game, didn’t really give up too much. I think their goalie won that one for them, obviously. That’s the way we’ve got to play though. I think we finished off the last few games before the break pretty strong and that’s something we’ve got to continue -- just continue to play the right way. 

“I think you look up and down the lineup -- I think the compete and the work ethic was there, and the intensity. So, that’s really all you can ask for. Obviously, you want to win. You need those points, especially down the stretch here. But I feel like we play like that, we’re going to have success.”

Duchene gave Dallas a 1-0 lead on the power play at 3:58 of the first period when his shot from the top of the left circle deflected off the skate of Buffalo defenseman Erik Johnson, who dropped in an attempt to block the shot, and beat Luukkonen inside the near post.

Oettinger, who represented the Stars at NHL All-Star Weekend, saved an Alex Tuch chance from the slot early in the period and got a piece of a Rasmus Dahlin attempt to deflect it into the protective netting with just over six minutes remaining. 

The Sabres outshot the Stars 16-8 and had a 28-15 advantage in shot attempts in the first period.

“We played with confidence, a lot of swag,” Dahlin said. “[Oettinger] played unbelievable.”

Thompson’s one-timer from the left circle on the power play tied it 1-1 at 5:53 of the second period.

“I don't know what I would do on that shot,” Oettinger said. “Like, that's unstoppable. You know it's coming. It's scary.”

Steel put the Stars ahead 2-1 at 9:04. Luukkonen thought he had a shot from Craig Smith in his arms, but the puck fell by his right pad and Radek Faksa put it into the crease, where it hit Steel’s skate and redirected into the net.

“I passed it to ‘Smitty’ and I was driving the middle, so I was hoping for a rebound,” Faksa said. “I knew the goalie was kind of out, so I tried to just put it in the net. I had no idea ‘Steeler’ was even there, so I was hoping for some bounce and luckily ‘Steeler’ was there.” 

The Sabres pushed in the final 30 seconds after killing two penalties, including 18 seconds of a two-man advantage. Oettinger got across the crease to deny Casey Mittelstadt from the left face-off dot with 10 seconds remaining and then Dahlin’s shot from the middle of the blue line bounced just past the left post.

“I think I’d be lying if I said we weren’t getting frustrated,” Mittelstadt said. “But at the same time, I thought we stuck with it. I mean, look at ‘Ras’, I think he had a ton of chances himself so maybe a little frustration, but he was going to the areas and trying to score. That’s all you can ask. Like I said, I think if we get that many chances and that many shots a night I think we’re going to win a lot of games here down the stretch.”

NOTES: Oettinger’s 47 saves are a career high in the regular season, eclipsing his previous high of 46. He’s made at least 47 saves in two Stanley Cup Playoff games. … Stars forward Joe Pavelski played in his 1,300th NHL game. He’s the seventh United States-born player in NHL history to reach the milestone. … Thompson scored for the first time in eight games. … Dahlin and Dylan Cozens tied for a game-high eight shots on goal.