Jake Oettinger delivers consecutive shutouts as the Dallas Stars recover from a winless opening weekend, with Mikko Rantanen leading an offensive resurgence.

DALLAS – The Dallas Stars stumbled out of the gate, but Jake Oettinger has quickly reminded everyone why he’s one of the NHL’s most valuable goaltenders.

After dropping their first two games of the 2026–27 season, the Stars responded with consecutive shutout victories over San Jose and Buffalo, evening their record at 2-2-0.

And suddenly, an offense that couldn’t find the back of the net is producing goals in bunches.

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Stars Struggle Through Opening Weekend

Dallas opened October 2 with an ugly 4-0 home loss to the St. Louis Blues.

The Stars followed that performance with a 2-1 defeat in Nashville on October 3.

Defenseman Miro Heiskanen provided Dallas’ only goal against the Predators, but the Stars couldn’t generate enough offense to avoid an 0-2 start.

The combined results left Dallas with just one goal through its opening six periods.

Oettinger Takes Over Against Sharks And Sabres

Everything changed October 5.

Dallas erupted for a 5-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks behind goals from Jamie Benn, Jason Robertson, Joel Kiviranta, Mikko Rantanen and Heiskanen.

Benn and Robertson each contributed a goal and an assist, while Roope Hintz collected two assists.

Oettinger needed just 13 saves to secure his 17th career shutout.

Three nights later, the Stars delivered another impressive performance, blanking Buffalo 4-0.

This time, Rantanen stole the offensive spotlight with four points, recording a goal and three assists.

Robertson, Sam Steel and Hintz also scored, while Oettinger turned aside 26 shots.

The consecutive shutouts extended Oettinger’s scoreless streak and gave Dallas something to build on.

Over those two victories, the Stars outscored their opponents 9-0.\

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Kiviranta Injury Creates New Concern

Dallas received unfortunate injury news following its victory over San Jose.

Forward Joel Kiviranta suffered a lower-body injury while blocking a shot and is expected to miss at least a week.

Coach Glen Gulutzan indicated Kiviranta would miss the Buffalo and Pittsburgh games, with a possible return against Colorado on October 13.

Matt Duchene also appeared on the Stars’ opening-week injury report with a lower-body issue.

Upcoming Dallas Stars Games

The home-and-home series with Colorado could provide an important early measuring stick against a Central Division rival.

The biggest question: Can Dallas maintain its defensive dominance while rediscovering the consistent scoring expected from Rantanen, Robertson, Hintz and Wyatt Johnston?