Heika's Take: Rising to challenge, Oettinger pauses history in epic win

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A pulsating Capital One Arena was filled with anticipation of a historic night on Thursday as Alex Ovechkin stood on the precipice of trying Gordie Howe for the second most goals in NHL history.
Instead, they got the Jake Oettinger experience.

Ovechkin was coming off a hat trick in Chicago on Tuesday, pushing his career goal total to 800, and leading the hockey world to cast its eyes on D.C. with fervent belief the "Great 8" would not only tie Howe, but possibly pass him. With Oettinger stopping 45 shots, including four off the stick of Ovechkin, in a 2-1 Dallas victory, the record breaking was put on pause.
"He probably should be all three stars," Dallas captain Jamie Benn said.

Oettinger had a few things he was dealing with. One, he was coming off a performance on Monday in which he gave up a goal to Pittsburgh to lose in the final minute of regulation. Two, he was facing high school friend Charlie Lindgren and hoping to win the goaltending battle against his fellow Lakeville North graduate. And, oh yeah, there was Ovechkin.
The 23-year-old said he embraced his favorite philosophy of "just have fun," and it served him well.
"You just play hockey and have fun," he said. "Just trying to do my job and have a blast and enjoy every second I'm on the ice. It's easy to get up for a game like this."
The crowd gasped every time Ovechkin was close to taking a shot, and the 37-year-old winger even helped open the scoring, assisting on a goal by Conor Sheary.
"They've got a lot of good guys over there," Oettinger said. "On the goal they scored, I got a little too focused on him and I'd like to take that back."
The one goal lead seemed pretty juicy for a while, and the Capitals appeared determined to stretch it out by flinging 15 shots at Oettinger in the second period. But each time the action was most fervent, Oettinger was there. Dallas was able to limp out of the second period down 1-0, and they then heard the harsh words of coach Pete DeBoer in the second intermission dressing room.
"We wanted to regroup," DeBoer said of the conversation. "We've got an honest group. They know when we're playing well and when we're not, and they know how to fix it. I don't think anyone in our room liked the second period or the fact that we hung [Oettinger] out to dry basically. We wanted to get that fixed, and the guys did that."

Dallas had a power play to start the third period, and Benn scored 48 seconds in. The captain fought his way to the front of the net and tapped in a rebound for his 12th goal of the season. Then, Benn was part of a shift in which Colin Miller was able to flip a puck on net from the right point, which then bounced around and past Lindgren. Miller's goal was both fortunate and hard earned.
"I had my head down," Miller said of the shot. "I was just trying to get it to the net, and I got lucky."

Of course, the harder you work, the luckier you get. Benn, Wyatt Johnston, Ryan Suter and Mason Marchment were on the ice, and they definitely helped create the possession time which led to the shot.
"We came close off the rush and [Marchment] made a nice play holding onto it, just getting it up top and getting the shot," Benn said. "Good things happen when you do that."
In addition to the work of Oettinger, DeBoer reminded his players that if Ovechkin scored, there would be a stoppage in the game for a huge celebration and presentation.
"I did," DeBoer said when asked if he intentionally told the team of the plan, to provide motivation. "Nobody wants to be part of history in that way and for sure Jake doesn't want to be the guy on the highlight reel 50 years from now getting scored on. I think it was a little motivation for us to shut him down. I have tremendous respect for him. To keep him off the goal score boards is a feat."
A feat that gives the Stars a huge win and pushed them to 18-8-5. Dallas has played three nail-biters so far on this five-game trip and found a way to win two. That's a sign the team really is growing each game.
"It's a huge road trip and we've got to find ways to win every night," Oettinger said. "It was a whole team effort, and a lot of guys did good stuff tonight."

Of course, Oettinger did the most. With everyone watching Ovechkin, the 23-year-old Stars goalie received some pretty impressive publicity for himself. He now sits 12-4-3 (seventh in wins) with a 2.42 GAA (9th) and .920 save percentage (12th). He also is building on his reputation of playing his best when the pressure is highest.
"We've kind of seen that from day one when he came in here," Benn said. "He's pretty poised, pretty confident. Nothing is too big for him,"
And after games like this, more people know that.
"He's unflappable," DeBoer said. "He's a special goalie and a special person. He's got great respect in our room, guys play hard for him, those are all characteristics of a goalie that you need."
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.