And that was the theme all over the ice. Yes, the Avalanche had 47 shots on goal and 88 shot attempts, but Oettinger said he had plenty of help from his teammates. Asked about a save where Roope Hintz defended a gaping net from the side, Oettinger said "we had three plays like that where they had an open net and somebody stepped up and made a play, so the guys did just so many good things in front of me."
Dallas finished with 29 blocked shots, and that also was a sign that everyone was trying to help out.
"That shows the commitment from the players," Bowness said. "They're going to get their looks, but give our players full marks, they paid the price to win that game."
And the game will be memorable, as the Stars try to fix their road issues (they've now won five in a row away from home) and try to chase down a playoff spot (they now are 26-19-2 and one point behind Anaheim with two games in hand). There's a lot of hockey left in the season but getting a win like Tuesday's can be impactful long term.
"They're a heck of a team," Pavelski said. "You need a big team effort to try to keep them to the outside, and at the end you need a great performance out of your goalie. They pressed and Jake was great."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.