Stars’ Oettinger pulled as ‘aggressive’ Kraken roll

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2 years ago

May 14, 2023

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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterMay 14, 2023, 12:26 AM ET
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SEATTLE — Needing a response to keep their season alive, the Seattle Kraken found exactly that in a 6-3 series-tying win Saturday against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of this Western Conference semifinal at Climate Pledge Arena.

A number of items allowed the Kraken to break out for six goals, prompt the Stars to pull star goaltender Jake Oettinger and ultimately force a Game 7 slated for Monday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

For the Stars, a Game 7 win would see them advance to the Western Conference final for the second time in four seasons. As for the Kraken, winning Game 7 would see the second-year franchise reach the conference finals for the first time in team history.

“We were ready tonight. I feel like the last couple games, they were the ready team at the start,” said Kraken winger Eeli Tolvanen, who finished with a goal and three points. “I think that was the big key today. All four lines were ready to play and showed up.”

Gaining some sense of control was a challenge for the Kraken throughout their losses in Games 4 and 5. The Kraken struggled in 5-on-5 play, as they failed to even meet their averages in certain offensive categories such as shots per 60, scoring chances per 60 and high-danger scoring chances per 60.

That wasn’t an issue Saturday. Having that control was how the Kraken staked themselves to what at one point was a three-goal lead. They held possession like a grudge with a shot-share percentage of 63.3% while owning at least a 10-shot differential throughout the latter stages of the first period.

Yanni Gourde gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead when he took a drop pass from Tolvanen and skated in for a point-blank chance that was initially stopped by Oettinger before Gourde recovered his rebound and scored with 11:01 left.

Only for the Stars to tie the game 31 seconds later on a goal from Mason Marchment.

Though Marchment’s game-tying goal was jarring, an argument could be made the power-play goal that allowed the Kraken to regain the lead was just as much of a contrast.

Capitalizing on the extra-skater advantage was a challenge in the regular season which is why the Kraken were 19th with a 19.8% success rate. The postseason has not seen much of a deviation with the Kraken converting 14.7% of their chances, which ranks 14th out of 16 teams. It’s also the lowest conversion rate for teams still alive in the playoffs.

What they did against the Stars was show the sort of fluid movement that has eluded them at times both in the regular season and in the playoffs. They found the sort of connectivity that set up Jordan Eberle to get the puck at the net front and elevate his shot above what was a sprawling Oettinger for a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes left.

“I thought we played aggressive, and we also played smart,” Eberle, who finished with two goals and three points, said. “We tried to limit their chances but also stay on our toes. We had nothing to lose. Obviously, backs are against the wall so we’re going to have the same effort in Game 7, and we know they’re going to have their best. That’s all you can ask for.”

Tolvanen scored a little more than 90 seconds into the second to push the lead to 3-1 before rookie Tye Kartye, who the Kraken signed as an undrafted free agent, pushed it to a 4-1 edge which forced Stars coach Pete DeBoer to pull Oettinger.

“We didn’t give him any help and this is a grind,” DeBoer said. “At that point we’re looking for a spark for the team, looking down the road to make sure Jake’s got energy, the fresher goalie for Game 7, all those things come into play.”

It was the second time this series the Kraken forced Oettinger into an early exit. The first time came in Game 3 when he allowed five goals over 40 minutes and finished with a .706 save percentage in what was ultimately a 7-2 loss.

On Saturday, Oettinger lasted less than 25 minutes with DeBoer electing to use backup Scott Wedgewood to finish the game. Oettinger finished with a .778 save percentage which was still higher than his effort in Game 3 but his goals-against average for the game was 9.84.

“Getting back to the pace we knew we needed to play with,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said in response to a question about what changed in front of Oettinger on Saturday. “Getting traffic. Find a rebound. That’s a good step for us.”

The Stars allowed 12 high-danger chances in 5-on-5 play — the same amount they allowed in their Game 5 victory Thursday. It’s just that the average distance for the four goals Oettinger allowed was just over 15 feet with the furthest being Kartye’s wrist shot from 31 feet, according to IcyData.

“It was just the mindset to get [inside the Stars’ defense] and we lacked a little bit of that before,” Tolvanen said. “It was great to see we can flip the switch and do things.”

Dallas would get its goals. Joe Pavelski scored in the second and after Seattle’s Matty Beniers scored to restore that three-goal lead, the Stars’ Joel Kiviranta kept it within two goals.

Although Pavelski scored a power-play goal to cut the lead in half and Kiviranta scored later in the third with more than 10 minutes left for the Kraken to hold a 5-3 lead.

Yet even with those three goals, the Kraken found a way to prevent the Stars from having the sort of three- and four-goal periods that have been one of the trademarks of this series.

Then there’s this detail that may have been lost in the Kraken’s victory.

Stars forward Roope Hintz, who entered Friday tied for the league lead in playoff points, was held to zero points but still got four shots on goal. The Stars’ top line, which is anchored by Hintz, also features Pavelski and 100-point scorer Jason Robertson. The trio finished with zero points in 5-on-5 play with Robertson getting the assist on Pavelski’s power-play goal.

“It was just getting back to who we are,” Hakstol said. “Those guys are tough to play against if you’re a little bit off. They had a big say for sure the entire series but over the last few games, they’ve elevated, and we haven’t been able to match that. Don’t get me wrong, they had their looks tonight. You look back through the chances and you’re going to see those guys involved. By us, it’s got to be by committee and it was. Everybody did their part and when we can have that type of rhythm, it allows us to have good energy, good pace and that makes us hard to play against.”

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NHL playoff standings: Resetting the postseason races after the trade deadline

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9 hours ago

March 8, 2025

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NHL playoff standings: Resetting the postseason races after the trade deadline

The final week ahead of the 2024-25 NHL trade deadline brought new faces to contending teams across the league, reaching a crescendo on deadline day, with Mikko Rantanen traded to the Dallas Stars, Brad Marchand shipped to the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche loading up with two new centers (Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle).

And now, the race for the playoffs is officially on!

In the East, the Atlantic Division seeds seem pretty well set, and that goes for two of three Metro Division seeds as well; the New Jersey Devils, in the No. 3 spot, are dealing with major injury woes. They are currently without Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler.

But it’s in the wild-card race where things get truly, well, wild. The Columbus Blue Jackets (68 points in 62 games) and Ottawa Senators (67 in 61) hold those positions heading into Saturday’s slate of games. But five teams are within four points of the Sens, with around 20 games left each.

There are six teams in the West that seem fairly secure in their playoff position — the top three Central teams (along with the Minnesota Wild in the first wild-card spot), as well as the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific. The Los Angeles Kings (71 points in 60 games) and Vancouver Canucks (69 in 62) have some work left to do to stave off the Calgary Flames (68 in 62), St. Louis Blues (68 in 64) and Utah Hockey Club (66 in 63).

There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Saturday’s schedule
Friday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Columbus Blue Jackets
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Washington Capitals vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New Jersey Devils

Western Conference

C1 Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2 Vancouver Canucks
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Minnesota Wild
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings

Saturday’s games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators, 12:30 p.m.
Seattle Kraken at Philadelphia Flyers, 12:30 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+)
Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning, 3 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+)
Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers, 6 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m. (NHLN)
Montreal Canadiens at Calgary Flames, 7 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.
St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings, 8 p.m.
Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers, 10 p.m.
New York Islanders at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m.

Friday’s scoreboard

Winnipeg Jets 6, New Jersey Devils 1
Washington Capitals 5, Detroit Red Wings 2
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Utah Hockey Club 3 (OT)
Vancouver Canucks 3, Minnesota Wild 1
Vegas Golden Knights 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 0
St. Louis Blues 4, Anaheim Ducks 3

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 105.4
Next game: vs. BUF (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 104.5
Next game: @ COL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 20
Points pace: 103.2
Next game: vs. BOS (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 21
Points pace: 90.1
Next game: vs. NYR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 85.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 87.3
Next game: @ CGY (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 19.8%
Tragic number: 40

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: @ OTT (Monday)
Playoff chances: 8.3%
Tragic number: 38

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.5%
Tragic number: 34

Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 21
Points pace: 72.6
Next game: @ FLA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 30

Metro Division

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 117.1
Next game: vs. SEA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 101.5
Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 18
Points pace: 92.3
Next game: @ PHI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 86.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: @ NYR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 27.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 88.6
Next game: @ OTT (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 31.1%
Tragic number: 41

Points: 63
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 21
Points pace: 84.7
Next game: @ SJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 29.7%
Tragic number: 39

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. SEA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 9.5%
Tragic number: 34

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 73.2
Next game: @ MIN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 26

Central Division

Points: 92
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 117.9
Next game: @ CAR (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 111.1
Next game: @ EDM (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. TOR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.6%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. PIT (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 94.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 87.1
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 37.2%
Tragic number: 36

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: vs. TOR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 26.4%
Tragic number: 36

Points: 53
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 70.1
Next game: vs. CHI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 25

Points: 48
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 62.5
Next game: @ NSH (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 18

Pacific Division

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 108.5
Next game: vs. LA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 100.5
Next game: vs. DAL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.7%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 71
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 22
Points pace: 97.0
Next game: vs. STL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 84.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. DAL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 30.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: vs. MTL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 27.5%
Tragic number: 40

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. NYI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 33

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 72.9
Next game: @ PHI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 26

Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 55.1
Next game: vs. NYI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 11

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.

Points: 43
Regulation wins: 12

Points: 48
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 53
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 54
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 58
Regulation wins: 16

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 63
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 29

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22

Sports

Winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline including the Panthers, Stars and double-flip deals

Published

24 hours ago

March 8, 2025

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Winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline including the Panthers, Stars and double-flip deals

Multiple Contributors

Mar 7, 2025, 08:20 PM ET

The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.

After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.

Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline: