Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer addressed his debatable choice to remove goaltender Jake Oettinger early in Game 5, and his comments following the season-ending defeat weren`t exactly a ringing endorsement for his starting goalie.
Speaking after the game, DeBoer stated, “I didn`t place all the blame on Jake, but looking back at last year`s playoffs, he`s lost six out of seven games against Edmonton. And in an elimination game, we conceded two goals on the first two shots.”
He added that the move was “partially to ignite our team and get them energized. And partially because we knew that just sticking with the current situation wasn`t effective, and that`s based on a considerable amount of past performance.”
This critical evaluation prompted DeBoer to substitute Oettinger with backup Casey DeSmith slightly more than seven minutes into Thursday`s pivotal game after Oettinger let in two goals from the first two shots faced against the Edmonton Oilers.
Neville Woodall