DALLAS (AP) — Stars starting goalie Jake Oettinger was pulled after giving up two goals on the only two shots he faced in the first 7:09 of a must-win Game 5 for Dallas in the Western Conference final against Edmonton on Thursday night.
The Stars called a timeout after Mattias Janmark's short wrister that went under Oettinger's legs to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead. Casey DeSmith took over in net after not playing since April 26.
Edmonton, which went into the game with a 3-1 series lead and trying to knock Dallas out in the West final for the second year in a row, got its first goal when 40-year-old Corey Perry scored on a power play only 2:31 into the game.
Less than a minute after DeSmith came into the game, Jeff Skinner scored his first career playoff goal to put the Oilers up 3-0.
Oettinger was 9-8 with a .908 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against-average in the first 17 games this postseason. This was already the fourth consecutive postseason for the 26-year-old Oettinger, who has won six playoff series.
DeSmith's only playoff action had been in the third period of Game 4 in the first round against Colorado. He stopped 13 of 14 shots in Dallas' 4-0 loss.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
