Oettinger, Stars are ready for two-game road trip at Xcel Energy Center

The Stars like to play the role of the villain.
They put together one of the best road seasons in franchise history at 25-11-5. They were second to Boston in road goal differential at plus-39 and they crushed the league in road wins by three goals or more with 17. So as the best-of-seven playoff series between the Wild and Stars moves to Minnesota, Dallas has to feel pretty good about its game.

"I've liked our road game all year," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. "I think we've been a pretty unflappable group. We've gotten to our game quickly, we've managed those momentum swings and we've been rewarded with our record on the road."

You can make the argument the Stars were better on the road this season, so they might actually play their best game of the series on Friday. Dallas scored first in 23 road games, second best in the league and outscored teams 45-26 in first periods on the road. Their 26 first period goals against on the road was tied for best in the NHL. Bottom line, feeling the wrath of the crowd can actually be a good thing for the Stars.
"When you have a tight group, it's one of those things that when you're on the ice, it's just you and your teammates against everyone in that building," said forward Jason Robertson. "The feeling of getting booed . . . guys are going to thrive on that."

Robertson likes to poke teammate Jake Oettinger on the fact they call Minnesota "The State of Hockey." Robertson was born in California, but his dad is from the Detroit area, and the family spends a lot of time in Michigan, so he likes to claim it is every bit as much a hockey state. Of course, Oettinger will be fired up for Game 3, as he grew up in the Minneapolis area and played high school games at Xcel Energy Center.
"It's awesome, and I'm sure it will never get old," Oettinger said of playing in Minnesota. "To do it now in the playoffs is even better."
Oettinger is 4-0-1 in his regular season career against the Wild. He buys tickets for his family and did so again for these two games.
"There are worse things you can spend your money on than tickets for your family," Oettinger said. "I'm happy they get to be here to see me play live in the playoffs, and I just hope I can play well for them."

DeBoer said he knows that playing in your hometown arena can be daunting for any player, especially in the playoffs. But he added that Oettinger has handled the pressure all season. When the team visited earlier in the season, former Wild player Ryan Suter organized an outdoor practice at a neighborhood rink, and Oettinger's friends and family were there. That gave DeBoer a better idea of what this means to his goalie.
"It's important," DeBoer said. "Him and Ryan Suter, who has his ties here too, did an outdoor skate. Oettinger had his family there and friends. It was nice to see him in that environment. You could see how special the area is to him when you see him outside the rink like that."
On the season, Oettinger went 17-6-3 on the road, so he was a huge reason for the team's success away from home. He posted the third best road GAA at 2.16 and the fourth best road save percentage at .929.
"You look at these past couple of years, that's what we've kind of seen, is how much poise he's gained," Robertson said. "Just always so calm on the ice, always so ready and focused. And you always know you can rely on him making a big save or having your back on the ice."
That's a pretty good game plan if you want to play the villain.
"It's a tough building, a loud environment," DeBoer said. "For me, it's going to be managing the momentum in this building. I think they get momentum from their crowd, obviously. If they start quickly, we have to manage that and get through it and get to our game as quickly as we can. The plan is to start as quickly as you can, but both teams have something to say about that."
Key Numbers
27
Stars forward Roope Hintz tallied a hat trick on a shorthanded goal, a power play goal and an even strength goal in Game 2. The last time that happened was 27 years ago when Mario Lemieux did it for Pittsburgh.
2,062
The North Stars played 2,062 games in Minnesota before moving to Dallas in 1993. Since moving to Texas, the team has played 2,273 regular season games.
11:24
Minnesota ranked sixth in the NHL in penalty minutes per game at 11:24 during the regular season. Dallas ranked 27th at 7:46.
He said it
"There's a hockey term for that. It's called deflection. You know what, if I were coaching one of the most penalized teams in the league, I'd probably be doing the same thing. That's good coaching."
- Stars coach Pete DeBoer on the fact Minnesota coach Dean Evason said the Stars' bigger players might be falling too easily in their attempts to draw penalties.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Hintz-Seguin
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Marchment-Domi-Dellandrea
Kiviranta-Faksa-Glendening
Suter-Heiskanen
Lindell-Hakanpää
Harley-Miller
Oettinger
Wedgewood
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