Heika’s Take: New-look Stars dismantle Kings behind strong goaltending

The Stars did a lot of good things Tuesday night.

Coach Pete DeBoer juggled his lines and knocked the frost off of a few key players.

Jake Oettinger looked to be in mid-season form, despite the fact he’s just starting the second part of his season.

And Dallas stepped up and took control against a tired Los Angeles Kings team that played Monday in Carolina and is finishing off a six-game road trip.

The result was a 5-1 Stars win, and a great step into their own long East Coast junket.

“We did what we were supposed to do, that was start well and finish well,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “I thought we let them back there in the middle with a couple of penalties. But we did what we were supposed to do against a team in that situation.”

The Kings played in Carolina on Monday (a 5-2 win) and then flew to Dallas. They ended a six-game road trip on Tuesday and were in an 0-4-4 slump before Monday’s win. That said, they are 21-12-8, have a plus-26 goal differential and rank third in GAA at 2.56, so the Stars were on their toes the whole game.

“You don’t want to let those teams hang around, especially with the amount of talent they have,” said Oettinger, who finished with 31 saves. “You make one or two mistakes and you’re down 3-2. You’ve got to finish your opportunities and hopefully we can learn from that and just keep going.”

Oettinger was a huge key to the win. He missed a month with a groin injury and then came back in a 6-3 home loss to Nashville Friday. He was supposed to back up Saturday at Chicago, but Scott Wedgewood got hurt and Oettinger had to come on in relief. He made 20 saves to win that game, 3-1, but both he and DeBoer said they were worried about what the stress might do to his injury. On Tuesday, he had two days of rest and felt a lot better, he said.

“It feels really good,” he said.

When asked if he’s back to normal, Oettinger smiled and said, “Yeah, for the next 48 hours until we play again. That’s how it goes, ups and downs and you ride the wave. I’m just happy to play well.”

It’s that kind of attitude that makes Oettinger special. DeBoer said his 25-year-old goalie looked like he usually does, and that really helps out his teammates.

“It started in Chicago. He played really quiet, really solid for the entire second half of that game when he went in cold,” DeBoer said. “And I thought he carried that into tonight. That’s the kind of goaltending we expect where he makes it look easy, he’s quiet and composed and gives us composure.”

DeBoer tweaked his lines in the second half of the game Saturday to help spark the win. He kept similar lines on Tuesday and received a quick start to the game. Wyatt Johnston moved onto the top line and played right wing with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. That line scored the team’s first goal at the midway point of the first period. Evgenii Dadonov slid in on the fourth line with Radek Faksa and Craig Smith. That line scored the second goal five minutes later.

It seemed like DeBoer’s tricks had created a fast start and put the Stars in position to grind out a well-earned win, when the Kings pushed back. Los Angeles had a 16-8 advantage in shots on goal in the second period and cut the deficit to 2-1 on a power play goal. Oettinger was spectacular and allowed the Stars to get to the third period while holding a lead and understanding the situation.

“They played a tough game yesterday in Carolina, that’s not easy,” Faksa said. “Back-to-back games are tough. We stayed on them and played really good in the third period and didn’t give them any chance.”

Johnston picked a corner off a great pass from Hintz five minutes into the third period, and the Stars could breathe again. Joe Pavelski picked a loose puck in the slot and scored two minutes later, and then Sam Steel converted a perfect pass from Faksa for a shorthanded goal to build a 5-1 lead with 10 minutes to go.

It was a great sign of everything coming together. The coach put them in the right place, the goalie gave them enough room to do their job, and the players cashed in.

DeBoer left Matt Duchene with Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment, but changed everyone else up.

“The Duchene line has been consistently pretty good all year and the other three have been some good, some average, some poor, and that’s why we shook them up,” DeBoer said. “You want to give the groups with history as much time as you can to get it together, but you’re halfway through the season now, so it’s time to make some changes.”

It’s part of the journey for a Stars team that now sits 26-12-5 (57 points) and continues to nip at the heels of Winnipeg and Colorado in the Central Division.

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.