The Dallas Stars, the town’s major winner, are caught by Dak Prescott and the Cowboys
Having fallen short of the playoffs, a few Dallas Cowboys players came to the American Airlines Center on Tuesday to observe how things are done on what was reportedly “Football Night.”
Along with a couple of his teammates, Dak Prescott attended the Dallas Stars game with Zack Martin, Peyton Hendershot, Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson, and Terence Steele.
In attendance were Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and Troy Aikman, a former standout at Texas A&M.
Ben DiNucci, a current star in the XFL and America’s Guest, an ex-star quarterback for the Cowboys, was the second notable football player who invaded the Cowboys suite. He could broadcast a podcast about getting free tickets and free promotion.
They all enjoyed seeing the Stars beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0, as did just about everyone else in the AAC.
Unofficially, this game is over because the Stars are up 3-2 in the series. The Stars are the superior squad. In Game 6 on Friday night in St. Paul, Minnesota, they can end the series.
Even though Dak and his teammates haven’t exactly thrived in the playoffs, the Stars are still there for one key reason: Every member of the club, down to the young goalie who continues to exhibit Eagle qualities, is made for it.
Jake Oettinger, the goalie for the Dallas Stars, has no trouble with the postseason, unlike Dak, who has not yet mastered it.
He turned away all 27 shots he faced on Tuesday night to record the first shutout of these NHL playoffs. You did get that properly.
The first shutout of the entire NHL playoffs came from Oettinger. Additionally, it marked the first home shutout for a Stars goalie since 2016.
This young kid is way past the age of 24, but he came close to defeating the Calgary Flames in the first round of the previous season in a series that lasted seven games thanks to Jake Oettinger.
After the game, Stars coach Peter DeBoer observed, “He does not look like a goalie who is 24 years old. For where he is in his profession, he is accomplishing remarkable things.
In terms of carrying the weight he is carrying at this point, not many (great) goalies in history have done what he is doing. It’s encouraging for the coming ten years.
The building on Tuesday night had one of those outstanding goalies. In a suite, Eddie “The Eagle” Belfour was watching his former squad.
Belfour’s dazzling days with the Stars were more than 20 years ago, yet when you gaze into those menacingly blue eyes, you’re still unsure of who or what is home. Everything is on the table.
In 1999 and 2000, Belfour led the Stars to back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances when he was 33 and 34 years old. He has played in the NHL for over ten years.
Thankfully, the NHL has changed significantly since Belfour was the starting goalie and is no longer goalie-first. Younger goalies are winning Stanley Cups for their clubs.
In the hopes that one of them will stick for more than a season or two before their delicate brains blow, you’ll also frequently see teams switch goalies around like a drunken Vegas black jack dealer.
Since Belfour left, Marty Turco was their most reliable goalie, but his streak ended more than ten years ago. For a spell, they had Ben Bishop. Many opportunities were provided to Kari Lehtonen. a group of guys from Finland with names that are too challenging to spell correctly.
Empty Net initially appeared to be the team’s best player.
In the 2020 Bubble Cup, Anton Khudobin performed admirably.
Oettinger has constantly given the Stars the impression that he’s going to stay rather than demonstrate that he can’t handle one of the most challenging positions in all of professional sports, despite the fact that the Stars have spent an eternity searching.
A goalie as young as Oettinger winning the Stanley Cup in what is essentially his second NHL playoff series is not absurd.
Numerous factors contribute to the Stars’ superiority over the Wild, with the goalie being among them.
Goaltending is among the many factors that can help the Stars win the Stanley Cup.
Dak would be wise to give the young man in the net a close-up look.
