Jake Oettinger, the Dallas Stars, and the Mystery Box of Playoff Goaltending

One thing we know for sure is that you never know for sure

Watching the actual Western Conference Final Colorado/Minnesota series so far has been fascinating, both for entertainment purposes and for comparison with the Stars. There’s no real way to know how Dallas would have fared against Colorado, because they’ve always seemed to have their number in crunch time even when they’re getting outplayed for large stretches.

But litigating a hypothetical matchup this year isn’t worth your time or mine, so let’s cut to the chase: all four goaltenders have gotten starts in a series that is now 3-1 to Colorado. For two of the best teams in the league (and the two best remaining teams in the West) to have already gone to two different starters is a bit shocking, but maybe it’s indicative of where we are now. The old saying was that when you have two starting goaltenders, you actually don’t have any starting goaltenders, but I called it an old saying for a reason: we live in a brave new goaltending world.

Or at least, most teams do. The Stars, on the other hand, do things differently, which is to say how they’ve usually been done. Like Tampa Bay—another great team to lose in the first round—Dallas has their go-to number one goalie, and they’ve gone as far as he’s been able to take them in every series they’ve played for half a decade now.

Often, that’s been quite far indeed, including Oettinger’s work to outduel Mackenzie Blackwood and Connor Hellebuyck behind a defense that was without Miro Heiskanen for the first half of the playoffs last year. I mean, do you remember Oettinger’s third-period save to keep Game 6 tied, allowing Thomas Harley to eventually win it?