The Dallas Stars “Played Their Hearts Out”
from Mike Heika at the Stars website,
The Stars left everything on the ice Sunday in Calgary.
And there's something noble to that.
Dallas overcame the losses of Luke Glendening, Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa to injury, and still was able to force overtime in Game 7 against the Calgary Flames before losing 3-2 on a perfect shot by Johnny Gaudreau. It was a heartbreaking way to go out in the first round of the playoffs, but it also was a proud performance by a proud team.
"Everyone played their hearts out," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "As a coach, that's all you can ask. Your players give you everything they've got, and I'm proud of the effort they gave. I'm proud of the way we battled. They were a better team in the regular season, and they played well [on Sunday]. Give them credit."...
While the Flames were clearly the better team and finished with a 67-28 advantage in shots on goal (as well as a 134-59 edge in shot attempts), goalie Jake Oettinger was outstanding in keeping the game close. The 23-year-old in his first real playoff action, had a 1.81 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in the series. His save percentage is best in the NHL. His GAA ranks fourth.
"He played a hell of a game," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "Haven't seen too many like that. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have been close to overtime and having a chance to win."
read on...
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