Trust me, I understand everyone's concern about Jake Oettinger right now. After last night's 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, you could tell Oettinger was not. His mind gets bogged down whenever. Whenever he plays so many games in a row, his mind gets bogged down. You could tell with some of the saves he tried to make last night. They made a couple of goal-routine stops. Pete DeBoer needs to sit down with him and talk about a break before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Let's talk about goaltenders before we get into why Oettinger needs a mental break. After thinking about it after the loss last night, I realized that goaltenders are a lot like starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. They will have their ups and downs throughout the season. There will be stretches where their head is in the game and other times when it isn't. Oettinger is probably in the middle of those stretches where his performance isn't where it should be.
Now, look, Oettinger isn't one of those goalies that can play the entire season like he did in his first full season as starting goaltender. Even Pete DeBoer thought that he played too much after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals. He did perform better in the playoffs once they managed the number of games Oettinger played during last season. They were eliminated by the Oilers last season because they were gassed after the series against the Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche.
Let's talk about how Oettinger's workload is going this year. He's 35-10-2 after last night's loss to the Jets. DeBoer wants Oettinger to play between 50 and 55 games this season. Right now, Oettinger is at 47 games, which is near DeBoer's goal before the season. If it weren't for the flu that hit the team and took Casey DeSmith down for a bit, he would still be on target for that 50-55 game range. With the Stars not clinching their playoff spot yet, they might have to go over the target just a bit.
I understand why the Stars' fan base is already freaking out about the playoffs. Not having your top defenseman and center in the lineup, while your starting goaltender is having a bad performance, is a cause for concern. However, the Stars wouldn't have been in second place if Oettinger hadn't been focused during the flu that hit the team. I still think the Stars have a good shot of beating the Avalanche in the first round if that is their first-round opponent this season.
I know paying Oettinger 66 million over eight seasons seems like a lot, but at least it's not Igor Shesterkin's new contract we are paying him. I'm saying that Oettinger had a bad night last night, and I'm sure DeBoer will talk to him today about playing tomorrow afternoon in Colorado. Once the Stars secure their playoff spot, they should allow Oettinger to rest and mentally prepare for the playoffs. Casey DeSmith has proven he can start and win games. When Oettinger is in demon mode, he's one of the best goaltenders in the league.