Jake Oettinger might’ve made the save of the postseason Wednesday night. Ironically, the Dallas Stars goalie technically didn’t do anything.
With Game 4 of the Western Conference Final between the Stars and Edmonton Oilers knotted at two in the late stages of the first period, Oettinger dropped his stick during an Oilers flurry. The puck trickled to three-time Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid, who got a clean shot on an open net.
What looked like a surefire go-ahead goal bounced off Oettinger’s stick, which was facing in just the right direction to keep the puck from crossing the goal line.
Hall of Fame goalie Henrik Lundqvist was on the TNT panel and got the chance to react to the ridiculous save during the first intermission.
“We teach that at my goalie camp every year,” Lundqvist said with a wry smile as the crew laughed. “You leave your stick on an angle, so when you get beat, you frustrate the player by making that save.”
“There it is, out of the ‘Angry Hank Goaltender Camp,’ you can learn all about it,” quipped host Liam McHugh.
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Henrik Lundqvist knows all about amazing saves in Stanley Cup Playoffs
Lundqvist himself was no stranger to mind-blowing saves in the postseason. He posted a 2.30 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 130 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with the New York Rangers.
Funny enough, Oettinger’s loose stick save came on the 10-year-anniversary of one of Lundqvist’s most iconic saves, batting a puck out of the air in windmill fashion during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, a 1-0 shutout over the Montreal Canadiens that sent the Rangers to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
It should be noted that was the only appearance in the Cup Final in Lundqvist’s amazing career, and the Rangers lost in five games (three in overtime) to the Los Angeles Kings.
“Sometimes you can’t rely on structure,” Lundqvist chuckled as TNT showed a flashback of his save. “You have to improvise.”
Oettinger may not have drawn it up that way, but his phantom stick save, one of 24 he was credited with Wednesday, has become a viral NHL sensation and one of the wildest saves we’ve season this postseason.
But it wasn’t enough for the Stars, who lost 5-2 to the Oilers in Game 4. That series is now tied 2-2 heading back to Dallas for Game 5 on Friday.