Jake Oettinger has had a strong sophomore season so far, there’s no denying that. But he’s also been struggling his past two games, having been pulled in both. Oettinger was especially disheartened after the Dallas Stars loss to the Montreal Canadiens:
“It’s my job to make those saves when our team gives up chances,” Oettinger said. “We played really well, and to not be able to make those saves for the guys really hurts me. I just want to be able to help this team win, and I haven’t been able to do that the last few games, so it’s really disappointing.”
Mentality is an important aspect in hockey, but especially so for goaltenders. Oettinger is well aware he can’t let the two weak performances get to him, and believes he’s capable of getting back on track:
“I just go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow and try to move on. Focus like it never happened. It’s easier said than done, but the good goalies who stick around for a long time are able to do that. It’s the first time that I’ve gone through something like this at this level, so I’m going to lean on the people around me and work like crazy and make sure the next time I’m in a game, I’m 100% on my game and I’m helping this team win.”
You can read more on Oettinger, as well as the Stars’ scoring struggles, from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
Saad Yousuf talks about… well, a lot in his latest mailbag:
Stars fans, thank you all so much for so many great questions!
We had so many, we had to split things up in two parts. Part One 👇Unlocking Miro Heiskanen’s production, analzying Ryan Suter and trading John Klingberg: Stars mailbag, part 1 https://t.co/5C7w26710q
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) January 20, 2022
Justice is served?
Montreal’s Jonathan Drouin has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Cross-checking Dallas’ Tyler Seguin.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) January 19, 2022
We have the new schedule, finally:
Updated dates for Stars games, new look at the remaining schedule pic.twitter.com/KPVbzWvgEa
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) January 19, 2022
Around the League
Couple of Central games from last night:
- The Arizona Coyotes scored four unanswered goals to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1. [Five For Howling]
- Meanwhile the Colorado Avalanche didn’t allow any goals, shutting out the Anaheim Ducks 2-0. [Mile High Hockey]/
In case you haven’t been keeping up, Nazem Kadri is having a career year, one of only five players with 50+ points:
Nazem Kadri on his career year, his future with the @Avalanche, those playoff suspensions and trying to eradicate racism in hockey. Hope you make time for this one. #NHL https://t.co/ndSBqqo7aO
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 20, 2022
Great news for the PHF:
The PHF received a $25-million commitment from its Board of Governors, the largest one-time independent investment in the history of pro women’s hockey.@hailey_salvian and @seanshapiro on what it means for the PHF and the future of the sport ⤵️https://t.co/x8zEuBTuag
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 19, 2022
Another John Klingberg mention in Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts, and it’s not a hopeful one:
When the noise of the Canadiens hiring Kent Hughes subsides, there will still be pressing questions. The real work in Montreal is about to begin. What that means, and more, in @FriedgeHNIC‘s latest 32 Thoughts.
Presented by @GMC. https://t.co/98rMjCk3Nr
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 19, 2022
Never too early~
2022 NHL draft prospect Alexander Perevalov has been lighting up Russia’s top junior league as a member of Loko Yaroslavl and the best is yet to come.
Story by THN’s prospects expert @THNRyanKennedy: https://t.co/IDML4RLIBa
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) January 20, 2022
Finally…
Just gonna leave this here:
..coming soon 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/l5ILADqcjK
— Stephen Johns (@stjohns28) January 19, 2022