The Dallas Stars are still dealing with the aftermath of their crushing Western Conference finals loss to the Edmonton Oilers, which was capped off with a 6-3 loss in Game 5 on Thursday. One of the consequences that will be most felt from the series involves Jake Oettinger and head coach Peter DeBoer.
Oettinger let up three goals in the opening nine minutes of the first period and DeBoer pulled him off the ice to insert his backup (who did not fare much better). After the game DeBoer threw his goalie under the bus and listed his many failures against the Oilers in the postseason recently. None of what he said was wrong, but it was still shocking to see a head coach pick apart his goalie immediately after getting eliminated from the postseason.
On Saturday Oettinger met with media for exit interviews and was asked if he had any concerns about his relationship with DeBoer after all that unfolded. He offered a rather blunt response that didn't directly answer the question.
"I think for me, it's just the whole experience, just have to learn from it," Oettinger told Stars reporter Taylor Baird. "It's going to help me grow and be a better person, be a better goalie. My job is to stop the puck. I feel like I'm one of the best in the world when I am playing well, doing that. That's all I'm going to focus on. The extra stuff is just extra stuff to me. If I go out there next year and I'm the best goalie in the world, (this incident) doesn't matter. One of you guys could be coaching and it doesn't matter. Just try to be the best I can be and learn from the experience."
A holistic view of the situation, but make no mistake. Oettinger won't forget how Game 5 unfolded anytime soon when it comes to his own play. He said getting pulled that early in the first period "sucked" and was "embarrassing" for him.
A long offseason begins for the Stars and Oettinger.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stars' Jake Oettinger Had Blunt Response When Asked About Relationship With Peter DeBoer.