Sometimes in sports, there is just one team or one player who has the number of another team. That is quietly becoming the case for the Washington Capitals against the Dallas Stars and goalie Jake Oettinger.
Going into Tuesday night's matchup in Dallas, Oettinger went into the game with a 5-0-0 record against the Capitals. That was not good, considering Washington was coming into the game off a 7-1 blowout loss, at home, to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
When the dust settled on a 1-0 Stars' victory, it was another night where the Capitals were frustrated. They not only lost, but it was how they lost. Twenty seconds into the second period, Tom Wilson was called for tripping on Radek Faska, and he was less than pleased by the call.
On his way to the box, he mocked Faska with a diving motion. That proved to be a big call as just 23 seconds into the power play, Tyler Seguin's centering pass deflected off the stick of Martin Fehérváry, past Logan Thompson, and into the net.
That was all that Oettinger needed to send Washington to another disappointing loss.
Jake Oettinger continues dominance of Capitals with a shutout
Oettinger turned back all 24 shots Washington fired at him, and now, after recording a sixth straight win over the Capitals in his career, he carries a .958 save percentage and 1.26 goals-against average against the defending Metropolitan Division champs. Despite the loss, Caps coach Spencer Carbery liked his team's effort.
“I like a lot of what we did out there for the majority of the game, especially the second and third period,” Carbery said. “I thought we did a lot of good things, controlled play, had the majority of the looks, just didn’t convert on them tonight. So, you can’t be upset or disappointed with the process. The process was good tonight. We just weren’t able to finish.”
Some teams and players just have success against others, and it is no shame that Washington has fallen to Oettinger six straight times. He's one of the best goalies in the league and a future Vezina Trophy winner, sooner or later.
The Capitals are going through a rough patch that all teams go through in an 82-game season. There's too much talent and "a lot of good things" to let it linger. The Capitals' next game will be on Halloween vs the Islanders at home.