Oettinger, Stars shut out Flames in Game 2 of Western First Round

CALGARY --Jake Oettinger made 29 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 2-0 win against the Calgary Flames in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Oettinger, who had one shutout in the regular season and has two in his NHL career, has made 49 consecutive saves. He has not allowed a goal in 114:59, dating back to the first period of Game 1, a 1-0 loss on Tuesday.
"He's very calm, he's very confident," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. "We're putting a rookie in a tough situation and we don't know how he's going to react until we give him that opportunity to play in the playoffs. We're very confident with him, clearly, but he's handled it very well. He's very confident and we love his poise in the net."
Joe Pavelski scored for the Stars, the first wild card in the West.
"I thought we made it too easy on them in the first game," Dallas captain Jamie Benn said. "We were better tonight. They're going to have their pushes and their good shifts and we handled them well and found a way to just dig in and get it done."
RELATED: [Complete Flames vs. Stars series coverage]
Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Flames, the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division.
"It's playoff hockey," Calgary forward Tyler Toffoli said. "It's not easy to score goals in the first place, let alone playing a team like this who plays extremely defensive. We've got to find a way and kind of dig deep. Our goal was to go into Dallas and win two games anyways. It doesn't really change our mindset, I don't think. We have to go there and be prepared to play in Game 3 and just try to take control of the series again."
The best-of-7 series is tied 1-1. Game 3 is in Dallas on Saturday.
Pavelski put the Stars up 1-0 at 7:47 of the first period when he tipped Jason Robertson's wrist shot after a Calgary turnover in their own zone.
Pavelski, who didn't register a shot in Game 1, became the oldest skater to score a playoff goal for the Stars since Mike Modano (37 years, 342 days) in Game 4 of the 2008 Conference Finals. Pavelski is 37 years, 298 days old.
"Felt good," said Pavelski, who has the most goals scored in an NHL postseason by a United States-born player with 62. "You score in the playoffs it's always nice. Nice to get the lead, all those parts. Yeah, get that one and move on."

Oettinger made consecutive right pad saves on Mikael Backlund's initial chance on a 2-on-1 at 2:50 of the second period, and Andrew Mangiapane's rebound attempt one second later.
"I thought we had plenty of scoring chances tonight," Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau said. "Their goalie played well. Couple 2-on-1's, breakaway. I thought we did a good job in their own zone. We've just got to score, got to bear down and put the puck in the net, starting with myself."
Markstrom made a left pad save on Vladislav Namestnikov's backhand deke at 12:34, and Oettinger stopped Chris Tanev with his blocker on a 3-on-1 at 12:58.
Markstrom also made a stick save on Pavelski's one-timer in the slot at 13:33 of the third period, and Oettinger stopped Toffoli's shot from the left circle on a cross-ice setup by Tanev at 16:30.
"This time of year, the only thing that matters is wins and, obviously, they have a great goalie on the other end and we know it's going to be tight, so the margin for error for me is very slim," Oettinger said. "I'm just happy that we were able to close it down in the third and protect the lead and then get that big empty-net goal."

Michael Raffl scored into an empty net at 18:51 for the 2-0 final.
"I think we're fine," Gaudreau said. "Just was a defensive game like last game. They got the one tonight, and obviously the empty-netter. We had plenty of chances to put the puck in the net and we didn't tonight. That's the bottom line."
NOTES:Oettinger is the second-youngest goalie in Stars franchise history to record a shutout at 23 years, 139 days. Don Beaupre (19 years, 202 days) holds the record with a shutout in Game 2 of the Preliminary Round in 1981. ... Pavelski scored his13th career playoff game-winning goal, tying him with Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most among active skaters. ... The Flames had six shots in the first period, none coming at 5-on-5. ... The Stars and Flames combined for 71 hits in the game; Dallas had 36, Calgary had 35. ... Gaudreau has two shots on goal in two games in the series.