– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DALLAS — Even without a heavy workload on Monday night, Dallas Stars goalkeeper Jake Oettinger still had a fun time on the ice, which is almost always the case when the San Jose Sharks are in town in Big D.
Oettinger made 13 saves while Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson each had a goal and an assist as the Stars blanked the Sharks 5-0 inside American Airlines Center for Dallas’ first win of the new campaign. Joel Kiviranta scored for the first time since his return to Dallas in the offseason.
Oettinger’s life in goal was made easier by the absence of Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini, who left pregame warmups with a lower body injury and ended up missing the contest. San Jose mustered just two shots on the goal in the second, and Dallas finally made its territorial advantage count with Miro Heiskanen’s goal with 1:09 remaining in the period for the only tally Dallas would need on the night.
“Anytime you get a shutout in the NHL it’s fun,” said Oettinger, who recorded his 17th career shutout. “Now guys are so skilled and so smart, turning down good looks to try to make a great look, so that’s what you’re going to have to get used to as a goalie now in this league. I feel like the volume isn’t going to be as high, it’s going to be more quality over quantity.”
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the Stars are now 13-1-0 in home games against San Jose and have won six consecutive games against San Jose inside the American Airlines Center.
Yaroslav Askarov made 21 saves for San Jose, who elevated former Star Ty Dellandrea to the active roster in place of Celebrini.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor 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 24 pictures in total.
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