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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Oettinger Finding His Groove

It’s been a rough start to his AHL rookie season, but Jake Oettinger is getting used to professional hockey. Plus, Marc Crawford to rejoin the Blackhawks’ coaching staff, Taylor Hall gets traded to Arizona, and more.

Similar to the Dallas Stars, the Texas Stars had an awful start to the hockey season that they’re just now starting to climb back from. It served as a sort of wake-up call for rookie goaltender Jake Oettinger, who’s used to playing well as a starting goaltender, not struggling somewhat as a backup:

The pro game is a big adjustment and expectations are much higher. Oettinger said he enjoys those expectations, but they required an adjustment.

“At BU I would make a save on five good or great chances in a game and it would be like, that’s a great game,” Oettinger said. “Here you make those five saves and it’s like, well that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

Like the rest of the Stars, Oettinger seems to have finally found his game, and looks more comfortable in net than before. His numbers might not be pretty, but it’s worth admitting that the transition to the AHL for a goaltender isn’t an easy one:

Philadelphia Flyers 21-year-old goalie Carter Hart is a good case study. Last season, Hart struggled with the transition to the AHL after dominating the WHL. But after getting a handle on things, he made a rather seamless transition to the NHL in Philadelphia behind a middling team.

This isn’t to say Oettinger will be in the NHL this season or next, but it’s an important point of reference that getting too wrapped up in the prospect’s save percentage or goals against average can be faulty.

You can read about Oettinger and a lot more from Sean Shapiro in his latest Shap Shots: [The Athletic]

Stars Stuff

Dallas lost last night against the Edmonton Oilers, in case you wanted to be reminded. Here’s what Rick Bowness had to say about the loss:

Here’s Jason Dickinson, whose face managed to survive the penalty-riddled game:

And finally here’s Andrej Sekera:

Central Census

Was a quiet night in the NHL, but not so much for the Central:

  • The Nashville Predators seemed to rebound nicely from their loss against Dallas, thrashing the New York Rangers 5-2 last night: [On the Forecheck]
  • Different game, same score: the St. Louis Blues held onto 1st place in the Central with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche: [Mile High Hockey]/

I always liked Eric Staal, so I endorse this message:

These statements from Marc Crawford and the Chicago Blackhawks are a pleasant surprise, and well worth your time reading:

I’ll warn you now: absolutely nothing noteworthy happened in the NHL yesterday. Oh, except the New Jersey Devils traded Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. Yeah, that’s kind of important:

Lots of conditions on those picks:

You probably don’t recognize any of the prospect names, but Corey Pronman has got you covered:

Offer sheet a goalie, cowards!

Believe it or not, the Calgary Flames are good again, and interim head coach Geoff Ward is a big reason why:

Finally, Ilya Kovalchuk was placed on waivers yesterday for the purpose of contract termination. Should the Stars consider picking up the veteran at the league minimum for some power play help?

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