Heika’s Take: Stars rebound quickly to claim divisional win over Jets

Details matter.

So does goaltending.

The Stars got both on Tuesday in Winnipeg and came up with a huge 2-0 win over the Jets in a battle of Central Division rivals.

Coming off a gut-punch loss to the Calgary Flames on Friday, Dallas vowed to have a bounce-back game, and accomplished just that. The Stars maintained a 40-22 advantage in shot attempts and doubled up Winnipeg’s scoring chances through 40 minutes. Then Jake Oettinger helped lead the team through a frantic third period to post 27 saves and his first shutout of the season.

It was a great answer in a lot of different areas.

“We cleaned up a lot of things from last game,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “We tightened things up, we didn’t give up as much off the rush. The goalie was great. A great response from Otter. We needed him.”

The win pushes the Stars to 13-5-2 (28 points), two points ahead of the Jets, who sit 12-7-2 (26 points). Colorado still leads the Central Division, but Dallas needed the victory to not only shake off some inconsistent play, but to keep their place in the standings. This moves the Stars to 8-1-1 on the road (their best start through 10 games in franchise history), and gives them a boost in confidence.

“I feel that’s been our strength, in past years too,” said defenseman Esa Lindell. “If we have a tough game, we wash it and move on. And next game we’re back at it.”

The Stars relied on a couple of areas that have been strong for a while. Dallas has the top ranked penalty kill on the road and was able to hold the Jets’ power play off the board for 6:08 minutes. That included two 5-on-3 situations that really changed the flow of the game.

“That’s the turning point in the game,” said Oettinger. “We’ve got some guys who take a lot of pride in those situations. You’re not going to see them on NHL Network, but that’s what it takes to win.”

The first 5-on-3 came with the game scoreless and both teams digging in. Dallas killed the 5-on-3 for 1:08 and then the ensuing remainder of the power play, and then Joe Pavelski slipped in a puck at the other end when the game had returned to even strength. Roope Hintz made a nice pass to Pavelski, who was able to score on the doorstep in front of Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Pavelski’s stick hit Hellebuyck in the mask as he was preparing to shoot, and the Jets challenged for goaltender interference. Officials declared the contact was incidental, and the goal stood.

“I had no idea right away,” Pavelski said. “Then you see the video and you never know.”

The Stars needed that goal, as Hellebuyck was great against a formidable charge from Dallas. It became even more important when Winnipeg was shot out of a cannon in the third period, and Oettinger had to hold the fort. The Jets had an 11-7 advantage in third period shots on goal and came up with 34 shots attempts in the final 20 minutes.

Still, Dallas was able to keep its lead and then extend it to 2-0 when Mason Marchment made a nice pass to Tyler Seguin in transition to put the game away.

There was a significant feeling of relief at that point.

“They’re a good team, a really good team,” Pavelski said. “We know what they’ve done the last 10 or 11 games. We knew nothing was going to come easy and we had to be smart.”

In addition to the division rivalry, the game was against former Stars coach Rick Bowness, who recently returned to the bench from an absence to help care for his wife Judy, who has been recovering from a seizure suffered in late October. The Bowness factor brought even more intensity to the game.

“We all played for Bones, so we know how defensively detailed his teams are,” Oettinger said. “They don’t give up much, they wait for their chances and they make you pay. We knew we would have to be patient. When you play a team like that, they’ll get into a track meet and grind you down and score on their odd-man rushes. And I think we limited that.”

DeBoer said he liked the start for his team and the way they responded to the challenge.

“We were ready to play tonight,” DeBoer said. “We were dialed in. That last game left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth and we talked that this league is all about your response. Everyone is going to stumble at different points and how are you going to respond. I liked our response tonight.”

Front and center was the penalty kill, which squashed another two man advantage in the third period. Lindell was out for 5:24. Also big were forwards Radek Faksa and Sam Steel, who logged much of the 5-on-3 time.

“Our PK has been great all year, everybody on it,” DeBoer said. “Esa with a couple of huge blocks and Hak [Jani Hakanpää] too. I thought Sam Steel and Faksa did an excellent job when they were out there.”

The end result was a big win against a team they could face in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“They’re four-point games,” DeBoer said. “You’re on the road and that team has been playing well. Everyone knows what was at stake tonight and I thought we deserved to win.”

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.