Stars 3 (EN), Islanders 0: Improved effort but worse result as Oettinger shuts the door

6 days ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Tossed aside into the corner. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images


The Islanders looked more cohesive, but Dallas made them pay for their mistakes and Oettinger never gave them a chance to atone. The Islanders began a daunting Western road trip with a not too surprising result, getting shutout by Jake Oettinger and a well-oiled Dallas Stars squad, 3-0 at [airline or tire or finance firm] Center.
Tyler Seguin scored two goals, including an empty netter to satisfy the gamblers, while Oettinger recorded 33 saves, 14 of them in the third period.
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On overall play, the Islanders started better than they did in their home-opening OT loss to Utah. They had more jump, were getting to better positions on the forecheck, and were not a nonstop turnover machine. They even killed a penalty (!) — yes, for real — when Max Tsyplakov was whistled for his first, and rather soft, NHL infraction.
But the Cup contending Stars were playing a professional game, and they pounced on their opportunities, while the Isles couldn’t put a finer point on theirs. The opening goal was a broken play in the Isles zone: the Stars turned it over, but Kyle Palmieri and Tsyplakov misread each other as they overlapped to try to take advantage and ignite a counter from the slot. Neither firmly took the puck, which allowed Mason Marchment to strip it free and feed Tyler Seguin, who scored upstairs from in close.
That left the Stars with a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The second was sloppier, with Semyon Varlamov having to make several superb saves to keep the Isles in it, including one at point-blank on a deadly move by frightening and diminutive rookie Logan Stankoven. The Isles’ lone power play was quashed after lots of puck possession but no real threats. Soon afterward, Jamie Benn scored at 10:58 to double the Stars’ lead, and the Stars continued to manage the period and make it look like the rest of the game would be a formality.
However, the Islanders started the third period with the increased fervor that a 2-0 deficit requires. I’m not really sure what the Stars were doing taking risks that allowed the Isles to get some of their best chances of the game, as well as some choice looks even for Scott Mayfield, in the opening 10 minutes.
But in every instance, Jake Oettinger and his posts, and sometimes both, were there to suppress hope. When Oettinger is on like that, he looks like a vintage playoff goalie in the zone, with no daylight and no angles for increasingly desperate shooters to exploit.
The Isles pulled Varlamov for a sixth attacker with just under three minutes to go, but that again created only possession, not much threat, until Seguin finished things with 1:03 remaining.
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The road trip continues in Colorado on Monday night. There’s real potential for a season-opening hole here....

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