Game Recap: Behind Oettinger’s 46 Saves, Stars Shock Avalanche, End Multiple Colorado Point Streaks

The Stars were backstopped by a 46 save performance from Jake Oettinger to shock the Avalanche on home ice 4-1. The victory snapped multiple streaks for Colorado including a 19 game point streak and 22 game home-point streak dating back to Oct. 30, 2021. Following the 4-0 loss to the Avs in Dallas, this was a huge response from the Stars.

"Somebody had to come in here and break the streak, and we were the team to do it," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Give the guys a lot of credit. That's the fastest team we've seen, and we found a way to get the job done."

It did not come easy, as Colorado outshot Dallas 10-0 early on and finished the game with a shot advantage of 47-20. Oettinger held tight and controlled the pace of play while his teammates found their legs, eventually getting a late power-play goal from Joe Pavelski to take a lead into the first intermission.

In the second, Dallas skated much better, put some pressure on the Avs, and created some breathing room when Pavelski found Jason Robertson in front after a mistake by Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz turned the puck over behind the net. Everything seemed to be falling in line for Dallas. However, with the success that Colorado has had lately, they were not about to go away quietly.

Just 36 seconds after Robertson extended the lead, Nathan Mackinnon whipped a low shot through traffic that beat Oettinger to pull Colorado within one.

For the remainder of the game, it was the Oettinger show. The 22-year-old goaltender stopped 32 shots over the last two periods, including multiple highlight-reel saves on some of the best players in the league.

"I think it was the best performance I've ever seen from him," said forward Jason Robertson, who played with Oettinger in the AHL. "It's great to see all his hard work pay off. He really was the key in getting us this win."

Oettinger was not on his own, however. Dallas finished the game with 29 blocked shots as they sacrificed their bodies to protect their lead and their goaltender.

"That shows the commitment from the players," Bowness said. "They're going to get their looks, but give our players full marks, they paid the price to win that game."

Joe Pavelski added his second power-play goal on a rebound in front and Tyler Seguin scored the empty-netter to seal the deal in the final minutes of a massive win for Dallas.

With the win, the Stars move within one point of the second wild-card spot and still have games in hand on teams above them. While it was far from perfect and they would like to tighten up their defensive game moving forward, they did what it takes to beat the hottest team in the NHL, something they have found a way to do on multiple occasions this season.

"They're a heck of a team," Pavelski said. "You need a big team effort to try to keep them to the outside, and at the end you need a great performance out of your goalie. They pressed and Jake was great."