Jake Oettinger's time has arrived, and Braden Holtby is here for it

CHICAGO -- Braden Holtby knew early in the game against the Colorado Avalanche that Jake Oettinger was going to have himself a night.

The way the young netminder was tracking the puck and handling deflections right from the start was a sign of good things to come, and boy was it ever. The Stars slayed the dragon that night, defeating the Avs 4-1 at Ball Arena to become the only team this season to beat them twice in regulation.
As Oettinger continued (he made 46 saves in all), Holtby observed. The veteran goalie wasn't about to shake Oettinger's concentration.
"Some guys like to talk, but I know when I'm playing, I'm talking to myself the whole game," Holtby said with a laugh after a recent practice in Chicago. "I try to stay out of the way. You can tell pretty early on what kind of night it is, but that doesn't necessarily mean the results are going to be there. That's part of our position. You can be as prepared and focused as you possibly can, and you can let in three goals on 10 shots because you can't do anything about it. That's the way the position is."
Holtby, of course, knows a thing or two about the position. In his 12 years at the NHL level, the 32-year-old has made 500 career starts, posting a 298-143-50 record over that span with the Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and Stars. He's also a Stanley Cup champion - an achievement every hockey player dreams about.
With that type of resume comes a wealth of experience and knowledge, and Holtby has been a terrific role model for Oettinger.

Holtby says he prides himself by leading by example. It's about how he conducts himself on and off the ice instead of having - for example - a serious sit-down type of conversation.
"It's never really like that in sports or hockey," Holtby said. "Everybody thinks it is. Every day you have conversations. If we have goalie-ice, we'll discuss things, but you never really have a sit-down conversation. It's not a movie scene where you're spitting out wisdom or what you think is wisdom. When I was that age, I learned more from watching guys. The guys you look up to, how they prepare and how they go about their business. I try to be the hardest-working guy out there and show him in that way because it's going to go a long way."
A big reason for that is because he lived it.
"I never viewed myself as the most talented or most gifted guy out there," Holtby said. "I knew I had to work in order to find my way and get my opportunity that way. It's getting harder with age. The body doesn't exactly allow you to work as hard as it used to, so that's been a little frustrating, but you still need to do the right things. Get on the ice early. When you go to work, you go to work. That's something I've always taken pride in, that sort of leadership."
Holtby says his relationship with Oettinger is a really good one partly because of Oettinger's maturity and willingness to learn.
"He's such a good kid that wants to learn and get better," Holtby said. "He's very mature for his age. It's been a lot of fun. These last two years have been more rewarding for me because you're seeing a generation coming up. It's fun to watch him evolve. He's getting more comfortable with every game he plays."
Oettinger's maturity shows on the ice in his poise and calmness.
"That's something that comes with practice and work," Holtby said. "Some guys are more natural at it in different ways. With him, it's more his maturity. His personality is he's a hard worker, but when he goes out on the ice, he's pretty focused at the task at hand, and that shows in the poise in his game. In order to have any consistency and success in this league, you need to have a skillset that allows you to do that, and he definitely does."
If the Stars make it into the playoffs, a huge part of that will be on the strength in goal. Holtby will be the first to admit that inconsistency has affected the team at every position. But with a huge victory over the Avalanche and wins in seven of their last 10, the Stars are knocking on the door for a coveted wild card spot.
"We're pushing in the right direction in a lot of ways," Holtby said. "We have a lot more potential to put out there than we've shown so far. In order to get that, it takes a lot of work and a lot of things to go right in order to create that winning culture. As long as we keep getting better and stay even keeled.
"One of our downfalls has been inconsistency, up and down. That's one thing we want to fix in this playoff push. Win or lose, you go about your business the same way the next day. That's going to go a long way for us."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.