Two nights earlier, Jake Oettinger had watched the end of an 8-3 loss from the bench after Winnipeg put six goals past him. On Saturday he did not allow any.
Oettinger made 22 saves in the Dallas Stars' 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres at American Airlines Center. It was his fourth shutout of the season, which leads the NHL, and his first since Oct. 17.
The start to his season had been close to spotless. He blanked three of the Stars' first six opponents, among them a 4-0 win over these same Sabres on Oct. 8, according to the Associated Press. The three starts before Saturday went the other way, with 14 goals allowed.
"I felt great. The guys played great in front of me," Oettinger said. "It was impressive how well we defended after last game."
Buffalo did not test him much early. The Sabres had six shots in the first period and were held to 22 for the game while Dallas put 30 on Alex Lyon, who made 28 saves at the other end.
When the saves mattered
The pressure came in the third. Buffalo got a five-on-four chance midway through the period, and the Stars killed it off. Moments later, Jack Quinn broke in alone, and Oettinger kicked out his right pad to stop him from point-blank range. Quinn got a second look seconds later, and Oettinger turned that away too.
"Low-volume work through two periods, but then some quality, quality saves," coach Glen Gulutzan said. "For me, that's the true sign … power play, PK, and goaltending: when are you getting these saves? And we got them when we needed them."
