Former Avalanche Mikko Rantanen sounds off on Oettinger's early pull in Dallas' crushing Game 5 loss
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Dallas Stars forwards Mikko Rantanen and captain Jamie Benn shared their thoughts on head coach Peter DeBoer's decision to pull goaltender Jake Oettinger in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Oettinger had a terrible night between the pipes, allowing two goals within the first eight minutes of the opening period. Stars' head coach made the surprising decision to pull Oettinger and replace him with backup Casey DeSmith.
Former Avalanche Mikko Rantanen sounds off on Oettinger's early pull in Dallas' Game 5 loss on Thursday.
Here's what Rantanen had to say postgame following DeBoer's decision to pull Oettinger...
"I don't know. Coaches make decisions. We were not ready. We were not helping Jake at all on the first two goals, so that's on us, not on Jake." -Rantanen
Stars' captain Jamie Benn also weighed in by sharing that after Edmonton's two quick goals, DeBoer called a timeout to urge the team to play better. Benn also says that the decision to pull the goalie wasn't his call.
"Pretty much wake up. Start playing. Kind of left Jakey out to dry there early on. That's pretty much the message. It's not my call." -Benn
For a second consecutive season, the Dallas Stars were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the conference finals.
Rantanen, who recently signed an eight-year, $96 million extension with the Stars, had an incredible playoff debut with Dallas but fell short without scoring a goal in his last eight playoff games.
In 18 playoff games, he recorded 22 points (9 goals, and 13 assists).
Benn also reflected on his team's challenging season after another conference final loss.
"We went through a lot of adversity all year. We always rose up to the challenge. Didn't matter who was out. Guys were stepping up. We just didn't get it done here. It [stinks]. I mean, three years in a row now [losing in the conference final]. You get that close, and you come up short. It doesn't matter who you're playing. Obviously, not a good feeling.» -Benn
This can very much be Benn's final season with the Stars as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 39 ANSWERS Former Avalanche Mikko Rantanen sounds off on Oettinger's early pull in Dallas' crushing Game 5 loss After Dallas' Game 5 loss to Edmonton, do you think Jamie Benn played his last game with the Stars? | ||
| yes | 24 | 61.5 % |
| no | 15 | 38.5 % |
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