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Jake Oettinger has established himself as Stars’ best goaltender amid hot streak

The 22-year-old goalie has maintained his .955 save percentage and lowered his goals against average to 1.29.

In the last two weeks, it’s been pretty clear Jake Oettinger has been the best goaltender.

The only question is whether Oettinger has been top dog just on the Stars or across the entire NHL.

The 22-year-old earned his third win of the season Tuesday night in beating the Edmonton Oilers, maintained his .955 save percentage and lowered his goals-against average to 1.29. Oettinger has played in only four games this season and piled up just 186 minutes of ice time, but the magic of small sample sizes is that they allow for a peek into just how well Oettinger has played.

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Here are Oettinger’s leaguewide ranks among goalies who have played at least four games:

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First in save percentage.

First in GAA.

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First in 5 on 5 save percentage (.971).

First in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick’s model (0.864). Goals saved above expected measures the number of goals allowed given the quality of shots the goaltender faced.

Second in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck’s model (1.161). He trails Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky.

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“Jake’s been rock solid, just rock solid,” coach Rick Bowness said. “He’s very calm in the net. There’s no rebounds, he reads the play, he’s swallowing pucks. He’s been outstanding.”

It’s not sustainable for Oettinger to play the rest of the season at a .955 pace, just as it wasn’t for Braden Holtby to play at .950 after his first four games of the season. But his recent hot streak should further illustrate that the Stars’ net should belong to a scorching Oettinger until further notice.

These stretches don’t last forever, so ride them until they’re done.

“He’s been solid,” forward Joe Pavelski said. “He’s done his job. He’s made some good stops along the way, and he’s made all the saves he’s had to. He competes and works hard.”

Holtby has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury but has skated with the team since Saturday. On Monday, he said the injury was “a lingering thing that just kind of kept getting worse and worse. So just trying to get ahead of it, get back to the way I was feeling the start of the year.”

Anton Khudobin, meanwhile, has been one of the league’s worst goalies. Just as Oettinger is atop the NHL leaderboards in his limited workload, Khudobin is close to the bottom. Among goalies with at least four games played, his .874 save percentage is fourth-worst. Both Natural Stat Trick and MoneyPuck have him as the third-worst goalie according to goals save above expected per 60 minutes.

The Stars are carrying three goaltenders on their active roster, and it seems like they will even when Holtby is healthy. When asked whether Dallas would carry three goalies, Bowness said “Can’t answer that one. Sorry.” But barring a trade or waivers activity, that will be the reality for the Stars, who can’t possibly justify sending down Oettinger right now.

Oettinger, a first-round pick in 2017, is in his third professional season, having spent 2019-20 in the AHL, last season splitting time with Khudobin in the NHL and this season with 10 AHL games and four NHL games.

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“He’s probably a little bit more mature [now],” Stars defenseman John Klingberg said. “I wouldn’t say he’s that much different. Obviously, got a little under his belt last year so he’s a little bit more— knows what we’re doing up here, and he knows all the guys and all that.

“I think that helps him a little bit, but we always knew how good he was and he showed it last year and this year.”

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.