– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DALLAS — It may not go down as the perfect pass, but the role that Dallas Stars goalkeeper Jake Oettinger played in his team’s game-winning goal on Sunday afternoon allowed him to remain perfect in Big D this season.
Oettinger made 26 saves and earned the secondary assist on Mason Marchment’s go-ahead goal in the third period as the Stars defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 inside American Airlines Center. Wyatt Johnson and Roope Hintz also scored for the Stars, with Hintz’s tally coming with an empty net with 7.5 seconds left in the third.
Winnipeg, who won 15 of its first 16 games this season, has now lost six of its last nine, and tonight’s defeat gives the Jets their first three-game losing streak of the season.
The game-winner came after Stars defenseman Thomas Harley sent a long pass from beneath the Stars’ own goal line to the opposing blue line, where Marchment gained possession ahead of Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey and beat goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck for the tie-breaking goal.
“[Morrissey] kind of caught up to me there at the end, and I just tried to protect it as long as I could and get a good shot off. Luckily it went in,” Marchment said. “I was trying to go [top corner] but sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Happy it did.”
Oettinger improved to 9-0 inside American Airlines Center this season, and after allowing an Adam Lowry goal just 3:16 into the game for a 1-0 Winnipeg lead, the Stars netminder stopped everything else in his path — including all 12 Jets shots in the final period.
“They’ve been the best team in the League so far this year, so we’re chasing them right now. Guys stepped up and had a huge effort,” Oettinger said. “[Connor Hellebuyck] is obviously top of the line and top of the mountain when it comes to goalies, so you know you’re not going to get much on him. [Marchment] stepped up and made that huge play, and guys sacrificed and played the right way the rest of the game.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Ross James. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 22 pictures in total.
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