CALGARY, Alberta — Hockey, for all its idiosyncrasies and quirks, can be a simple game.
You can adjust lines and pairings, tweak forechecks and breakouts, pull players out of the lineup and mix up the power play. But all of those things can be rendered moot by the goaltending position, particularly in the slugfest that is the Stars-Flames first-round series.
On Wednesday night, during a 3-1 Stars loss to Calgary in Game 5, goaltender Jacob Markstrom was the simplest solution the Flames’ Jake Oettinger problem.
Markstrom made 20 saves, leading the Flames to a win that gave them a 3-2 series lead ahead of Game 6 on Friday night in Dallas. Andrew Mangiapane scored the game-winning goal for Calgary with 9:22 left in the third period, when Calgary snatched the game from the Stars.
Oettinger made 29 saves, giving the Stars a chance to take a lead in the best-of-7 first-round series. Dallas can be eliminated with a loss in Game 6.
Jason Robertson scored his first goal of the postseason during the second period, snapping a four-game goalless streak. Mikael Backlund tied the game for Calgary 6:49 into the third period, and Trevor Lewis added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Oettinger — the towering 23-year-old netminder playing in his first postseason — has been the Stars’ best player all series. As the offense has gone dry and the defense has forsaken the Stars, Oettinger has been steady.
He notched his first playoff shutout in his first win during Game 2. He made 39 saves in a Game 3 win and was perhaps better in making 50 saves during a Game 4 loss.
He’s denied Johnny Gaudreau in big spots. He’s left Tyler Toffoli wondering which hockey god he angered to deserve his goalless fate. He’s kept 42-goal scorer Matthew Tkachuk off the board. Elias Lindholm has been the only Flame to solve Oettinger consistently, as Oettinger has repeatedly parried Calgary attempts.
His status has grown so much in Calgary that Flames fans serenaded Oettinger with singsong-y “Oettinger! Oettinger!” chants within minutes of puck drop. He stopped Tkachuk on an early breakaway, then denied Toffoli on a sharp-angle shot that then rolled through the crease.
On Wednesday night, the Stars were also much better in front of him — in the first two periods.
Dallas returned to its defensive identity, one it banked on carrying it through a potential playoff run, and one it sculpted across the last four seasons. Instead of allowing 19 shots in the first period and 20 shots in the second period like they did in Game 4, the Stars surrendered just 16 through the opening 40 minutes combined.
Then the Flames turned it on. Calgary pumped 14 shots in the first 14 minutes of the third period, beating Oettinger twice to erase a one-goal deficit and take a 2-1 lead.
After leading the Stars with 41 goals during the regular season, Robertson was goalless during the first four games against Calgary. His lone point was a primary assist in Game 2 on Joe Pavelski’s goal. Bowness mixed around the lines to try and jumpstart Robertson, and he looked much better on Wednesday night.
He was pulling pucks out of battles. He was possessing them in the offensive zone. He was finding space around the net, where real estate is expensive in the playoffs.
On his goal, Robertson received a pass down the wall from Jamie Benn and bounced a puck off Jacob Markstrom and then off of Noah Hanifin. His first career playoff goal wasn’t pretty. But it was needed — both by Robertson and by the Stars.
Backlund tied the game on a feed from Mangiapane, camping out in front of the net between Vladislav Namestnikov and Radek Faksa to breathe life back into the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Before the game, the Stars talked about what they needed to do better defensively. Coach Rick Bowness pointed to contesting Calgary’s zone entries better, pushing out more aggressively and defending the Flames better with the puck behind the net.
Defensemen John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen each said they needed to end plays quicker in the defensive zone.
“We know they’re a good team over there, we know they’re going to get the puck a lot,” Klingberg said. “But if we can close plays faster and keep the puck a little bit more, we’re going to play with more possession and be able to spend more time in the o-zone.”
Heiskanen: “I think we spent too much time in our own zone, so try to end plays quicker and get out of the zone.”
This was the Stars group that left Calgary last week having frustrated the Flames and silenced a thunderous Saddledome. This group went missing in Dallas as Calgary piled up chances and the Stars asked Oettinger to be near perfect in order to win.
It was there for 40 minutes. Then it disappeared, like the Stars’ 2-1 series lead.
Now, Dallas will have to win the next two games or watch its season end — despite Oettinger’s best efforts.
_____
