Oettinger makes 41 saves, helps Stars get first win against Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Tanner Kero broke a tie in the third period, and the Dallas Stars defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 at PNC Arena on Saturday.

It was the first win for the Stars against the Hurricanes this season (1-2-2). They play the second of their back-to-back set here Sunday.
Andrew Cogliano and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars (13-12-10), who have won two in a row for the first time since they opened the season with a four-game winning streak. Jake Oettinger made 41 saves after replacing scheduled starter Anton Khudobin, who was placed in the NHL COVID-19 protocol Saturday morning.
"He's mature beyond his years," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said of Oettinger, a rookie. "When you're that confident in your abilities you want to play. Nothing is going to rattle him at this point."
Dougie Hamilton and Haydn Fleury scored, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves for the Hurricanes (24-9-3), who had won four of five.
"We played hard and played well," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Give them credit; we know the pucks are getting to the net by them. I can't fault our guys. That's a good effort from start to finish. If we come with that effort most nights we're going to be rewarded."

Kero scored his second goal of the season at 2:52 to give the Stars a 3-2 lead after Jason Robertson made a no-look, backhand pass from behind the net to the low slot.
"We just wanted to be hard on the puck and [Robertson] made a great play to just walk out of the corner," Kero said. "Luckily I was all alone in front."
Cogliano scored when he tipped Mark Pysyk's shot from the right point to make it 1-0 at 3:41 of the first period.
"We do that quite a bit, where you drive off the wall and try to get to the net," Cogliano said. "I've probably done that 100 times this year, so it's nice to tip one in. A big goal for the team, just to get a good start."

Hamilton tied it 1-1 at 9:33 with his 100th NHL goal. He took a pass from Vincent Trocheck and pulled Oettinger out of position before flipping the puck into an open net from the right circle.
"I saw he was a little late coming to me. I didn't want to rush the shot," Hamilton said. "I kind of looked for five-hole and it wasn't really there, so I could go around him."
Carolina took a 2-1 lead at 13:04 of the second period on Fleury's shot from the left point that trickled through Oettinger's five hole. It was Fleury's first point of the season in his 32nd game and first goal since Feb. 29, 2020.
Benn's power-play goal at 19:31 tied it 2-2. Nedeljkovic saved John Klingberg's one-timer, but Benn gathered the rebound at the top of the crease and scored on a backhand.
"I'll tell you who did an incredible job tonight: Jamie Benn," Bowness said. "He was great on the bench. He's done a great job leading that third and fourth line. They want to chip in because they see their leader busting his butt and doing all the things you need to do to win."
The Hurricanes' 43 shots were the most Oettinger has faced in 18 NHL games. He denied Andrei Svechnikov cutting to the net with 32 seconds left.
"It's fun when they're coming at you," Oettinger said. "I love to play against the best players in the world, and I think they have some of those guys over there. To measure where I'm at is always super fun, especially against a team like that. The guys did such a great job in front of me tonight."
NOTES:Stars forward Jason Dickinson left after the first period with an undisclosed injury, but Bowness did not rule him out for Sunday. He had no update on Khudobin. … Hamilton extended his NHL career-high home point streak to nine games (two goals, nine assists). He has scored 328 points (100 goals, 229 assists) in 588 NHL games for the Hurricanes, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames. … Trocheck extended his point streak to nine games (five goals, seven assists). … Carolina forward Jordan Staal won 21 of 30 face-offs (70.0 percent). … Robertson had his three-game goal streak end. … Klingberg has scored six points (one goal, five assists) in a six-game point streak. ... Oettinger tied Jack Campbell (Oct. 20, 2013 at Anaheim Ducks) for the most saves by a rookie goalie for the Stars since they began play in Dallas for the 1993-94 season.