First Shift: Stars look to clean up defensive effort against Red Wings

Jake Oettinger is in a slump.

Truth be told, his whole team is in a slump, but the numbers reflect most strongly on the Stars goalie.

Oettinger is 2-5-1 in his past eight decisions with a 3.75 GAA and an .869 save percentage. That’s a striking difference from the 8-2-1 start with a 2.28 GAA and .926 save percentage. But while the 24-year-old netminder said he understands that things aren’t going right, he doesn’t really think there needs to be a gigantic change in his approach to the game.

“It’s not like I’m letting in goals from the blue line,” Oettinger said. “It’s going to come for me, for sure. I’ve got a goalie coach that believes in me and my family, my friends, my teammates, myself . . . Hopefully a week from now we’re having a different conversation.”

Oettinger’s history is that he has been consistently good. He has an 82-41-21 career record with a 2.47 GAA and .915 save percentage, and he has helped the Stars become one of the better defensive teams in the NHL. Now, he has had some strong defensive play in front of him over the past three seasons, and that’s one of the problems with Dallas’s overall game right now.

“I think Jake knows he has another level, but we’ve got to be better around him, too,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said.

Dallas in recent games has not only struggled with defending around the net and keeping the path clear for Oettinger, but it has not managed the puck well and that creates opportunities for the opposition. What’s more, they have allowed the first goal in the past four games and are 14 of 26 overall, and that just makes it harder.

Forward Joe Pavelski said the entire team has to be unified in helping both Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood.

“It’s going to take a big effort,” Pavelski said after a 6-1 loss to Vegas on Saturday. “Let’s regroup and understand we can win a game 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, that’s how we win a lot of our games. We can do things a little simpler throughout the night where you don’t have to give up some of those chances. We’re more than capable of playing that way.”

Oettinger said he too can be better by following the game plan that had pushed him to the NHL.

“The only thing I can focus on is stopping the puck,” Oettinger said. “Those guys have a job to do, I have a job to do. When I start worrying about other stuff, that’s not a good thing. It starts with me. The puck has to get past me no matter what, so I’m just focused on myself and what I can do to be better.”

And the teammates say they have to dig in, as well.

“We’ve got all of the confidence in the world in Jake,” Pavelski said. “No. 1, he works hard, he competes. There is a ton of belief coming from guys in this room. We’re not looking in anyway like he’s letting us down. It’s probably the other way around. We feel we can be a little bit better for our goaltenders.”

Key Numbers

3.73
Detroit ranks second in the NHL in goals per game at 3.73.

10-2-0
The Stars have won 10 of their past 12 meetings with the Red Wings in the last 3 seasons, including 5 straight.

5.17
Detroit is top three in both penalties drawn (second at 5.17) and penalties taken (third at 4.64).

He Said It

“Like all young players, it’s that consistency. It’s stringing together seven or eight good games out of 10 instead of two or three. I remember talking with you guys endlessly with Denis Gurianov. And I really don’t want to do this every time the kid plays. If he’s in the lineup, he’s doing enough to stay in the lineup. If he’s out of the lineup, he’s not doing enough to stay in the lineup. It’s pretty simple.”

- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on how he is managing young defenseman Nils Lundkvist

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.