Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith are having a pretty good season as the goaltender tandem for the Dallas Stars. While each of them has had their ups and downs over the course of the season, they have been pretty consistent between the pipes. However, a new problem has arisen over the last ten or so games for both goaltenders. The problem that has arisen is the lack of help from their teammates defending the front of the net in the Stars' zone.
Let's take a look back at last night when the Stars took on the St. Louis Blues. The Blues' second goal of the game could have been stopped if Sam Steel had gotten a hold of the puck before it found its way past Oettinger. It's not just Steel who's not defending the Stars' zone. I could say that the whole team is having issues right now. TPlayers are standing in front of the net and not squashing any second-chance rebounds.
I'm not trying to create a Captain America: Civil War storyline between the Stars' goaltenders and the rest of the team, but their teammates must step up and help them. Neither of them can take on five players on the ice at once. Defenders in front of the net have to stop looking like they are drinking tea at high noon and hit someone to clear out the front of the net. One of the most dangerous things a team can do is leave a goaltender helpless against two players trying to poke the puck past him.
Another thing the Stars need to start doing more often is giving both our goaltenders a goal cushion so they don't have to play out of their minds. I actually feel so bad for Casey DeSmith when he took on the Columbus Blue Jackets the other night, and the Stars couldn't even get him a goal. It's like the Stars decided, "DeSmith will hold us in the game and get us the win." Like DeSmith can even score the puck from the other side of the ice. That is the rest of the team's job: to make sure they can reward him with the win.
It's time for the Stars to help out their goaltenders early in the game and score goals. It's also time for the Stars to help clear out the front of their net so teams don't easily get second-chance opportunities. Oettinger and DeSmith are putting in the effort to get the team the victory; now it's time for the other players to chip in. It's how the Stars are going to have a long playoff run later this season. If the Stars don't decide to help out their netminders, might as well pack for Cabo.