Stars' Jake Oettinger Says 'It's Embarrassing' He Got Pulled in Game 5 Loss to Oilers

Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger spoke Saturday for the first time since being controversially pulled early in the Stars' season-ending loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

While addressing the media Saturday, Oettinger told reporters that while he was surprised by the quick hook, he wants to use it as fuel to get better. He also admitted that the move hurt his pride, saying, "It sucks. It's embarrassing."

On Thursday, the Stars hosted the Oilers in a do-or-die Game 5, trailing 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals.

Corey Perry opened the scoring with a power-play goal 2:31 into the game, and Mattias Janmark extended the lead to 2-0 just 7:09 into the first period, prompting Stars head coach Pete DeBoer to bench Oettinger in favor of Casey DeSmith.

Edmonton scored again less than a minute after the change was made, and while Dallas got within one goal on two occasions, it was never able to overcome the three-goal deficit.

While speaking to reporters after the Stars were eliminated, DeBoer made some waves by citing Oettinger's struggles against the Oilers as one of the reasons why he made the change:

"Any time you pull a goalie the reasoning is to always try and spark your group. So that's your No. 1 reason. We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with the lead, and obviously, we're in a 2-0 hole right away. I didn't take that lightly, and I didn't blame it all on Jake. But the reality is, if you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton."

The Stars and Oilers also met in last year's Western Conference Finals, and after taking a 2-1 series lead, Dallas dropped three games in a row to lose the series.

Edmonton then won four out of five games against Dallas in this year's Western Conference Finals, meaning the Oilers have won seven out of their last eight playoff games against the Stars.

Oettinger, 26, has been one of the NHL's top goalies for the past five seasons, posting a career record of 149-66-27 with a 2.52 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

The one-time All-Star had another strong season in 2024-25, going 36-18-4 with a 2.59 GAA, .909 save percentage and two shutouts for a Stars team that finished with 106 points.

Oettinger only managed a 2.82 GAA and .905 save percentage in this year's playoffs, though, and he had a particularly tough time against the Oilers with a 3.93 GAA and .853 save percentage.

While DeBoer's desperate decision in a win-or-go-home game was somewhat understandable, it left some to wonder if his postgame comments did damage to his relationship with Oettinger.

Per Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News, Oettinger was dismissive of a question about his relationship with DeBoer on Saturday, saying he was focused on being the best goalie in the world rather than his standing with DeBoer.

Any potential issues between DeBoer and Oettinger are something that will have to be worked out during the offseason since both will be needed in order for the Stars to be Stanley Cup contenders once again next season.