Stars head coach Rick Bowness compares rookie Jake Oettinger to reigning Vezina winner

The Dallas Stars and head coach Rick Bowness caught a sniff of the Stanley Cup following a sensational run by veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin, and on Wednesday night, Bowness had some high praise for a Stars netminder - but it wasn't Khudobin. Nor was it the injured Ben Bishop, who has shown his penchant for being at or near the top of the league when healthy. No, this time, the praise was for rookie netminder Jake Oettinger.

So how high was the praise, exactly? Well, Bowness compared Oettinger to another talented netminder that he knows well. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy.

"I was in Tampa when Vasilevskiy came into the league. There are a lot of similarities," Bowness said of Oettinger, who helped the Stars to grind out a point against the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday on the heels of a 33-save performance, but landing on the wrong side of a 4-3 shootout loss to the Bolts.

"When Vasilevskiy first came into the league, there were bad goals," said Bowness. "He had to learn. You could see the incredible potential of the kid and you could see the attitude, work ethic, and everything else was right there. You knew that Vasilevskiy was going to be a great goaltender in this league, but they need experience. They need to play. So, Jake has the work ethic, the compete and the desire to be great.

"Vasilevskiy is the best goalie in the league, don't kid yourself. But this is Vasilevskiy's sixth or seventh year in the league. Imagine where Jake will be in six or seven years. He will be right there."

Despite owning a 4-1-6 record, the 7 losses are not indicative of Oettinger's performances, absolutely giving his team a chance to win every single game. His 7th overall ranked 2.16 GAA is evidence of that. Without a doubt, the future is bright in between the pipes for the Stars, and Bowness is not the only one who knows it.

Fellow rookie Jason Robertson, elder brother of Maple Leafs rookie Nicholas Robertson, also praised the rookie netminder for his efforts on Tuesday, after turning aside 18 first period shots to help propel his team through a very close game.

"It was phenomenal by Jake. I think there were 20 shots in the first period, and we could not have got that point without him for sure. I know he was a bit hard on himself after the shootout, but he got us there. He was our guy. Everyone trusts him and everyone knows he gave his all.

"I think he is one of the better goalies in the NHL as a rookie. Kudos to him. We will need him along the stretch, and he had a good performance tonight," Robertson said on Tuesday.

Oettinger will get his 4th consecutive start on Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.

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