Jake Oettinger & Mikko Rantanen EXCITED For Dallas Stars Home Opener

Jake Oettinger & Mikko Rantanen EXCITED For Dallas Stars Home Opener

important question. Have you thought through your outfit for the green carpet tonight? And will it be different now with the new dress code? Uh I Yeah, I have a I hope it looks cool. I think it looks cool. I got it a couple weeks ago, but uh yeah, I think it’s it’s nice like especially on the road just the get to wear comfortable stuff, you know, and when I when I’m not playing, I’m be wearing some cozy outfits. So, it’s nice. That’s for sure. You excited to get out there and get in front of the home crowd? Yeah. Yeah, I’m really excited. Uh, you know, it feels weird that we haven’t like played a home game yet, so it’ll be great. I know the building will be be awesome and just excited to get in front of our crowd again. What was it on the road trip? Uh, I think we, you know, just found different ways to win every night. I think, uh, you know, that’s what good teams do is, you know, find ways to win and, you know, two two great tests early on in the season. So to to be 2 and 0 and um against those two teams on the road, you know, feels like we’re we’re starting ahead, which is nice. How would you assess your first two game performances? Um I think I did a lot of good things. I think uh you know, I think in the first game I think we can learn as a team how to you know, not put ourselves in that situation and you know, not make games interesting that don’t need to be interesting. So I think we all learned from that and then you know last game Colorado I mean you know you get out of there with a win no matter how many goals you let in it feels good. So obviously did some good things there and uh now just trying to build on it. You got one shoot out under your belt already when you’re going into a shootout. How much of it is scouting the guys you’re going to see and how much of it is just instinct? Yeah, I think I used to like look at a sheet of what everyone used to do and I think that kind of got in my head a little bit almost and like I would be not even reading the play just kind of you know what their tendencies were. So now I just try to you know be an athlete and read the play and have fun and I think I’ve done pretty well in shootout since then. Wstead had his last or his first shootout last night. You said you got to go with instinct. You can’t scout guys. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, these guys are so good. Like, they’ll when they come down on you, they got five things they’re going to do. And, you know, they just kind of do what what you like have open. So, it’s hard to hard to pre-cout a shootout. Oh, she was kind of a legendary guy. You couldn’t read. You never knew what he was going to do, right? Yeah. I’m happy I never had to face him in a shootout. That’s for sure. When you were at the other end of the ice on Saturday and you heard all the booing as Mo came out and then he goes in and scores that, what’ you think? Yeah, it was I mean obviously you know huge goal and uh you know when you got a guy like that you expect him to score in a shootout. So uh obviously we needed that goal big time and stepped up. A lot of the guys have talked just about how you all are learning goalie system and there still some kind of kinks to work out. How much does that impact you what’s happening in front of you? Yeah, I think the only thing that would impact me, I think, is when they don’t they do something wrong and then it’s a scoring chance. So, I think uh yeah, I mean, like I said, like I think, you know, they’ve been doing the same thing for three years. So, it’s going to be hard to just kind of flip this switch. And I mean, that’s that’s why those two wins feel so good cuz we, you know, did a lot of things where we didn’t want to do them and we hopefully won’t do them down the road and we still found ways to win. So, I think as the next, you know, few games, we’ll just kind of smooth it all out and and I think we’ll be great. Yeah, it’s nice to have freedom to not carry a suit if you don’t want. Yeah. You guys like Yeah, we got to be better than we did last game, you I think we got to play more more similar that we played against Winnipeg the first two periods or 50 minutes of that game. You know, we were hungry on pucks and I don’t think we had our legs in Colorado. I don’t know the reason. You know, I didn’t have my legs either. So, but uh two days off now with one practice, so should be good on that standpoint. You guys notice more freedom. It feels like you guys are a lot more play. Is that something you guys are kind of pushing this year? Yeah, I think you know coaching new coaching staff, new system. So maybe that’s one of the one of the changes is there’s more more reads maybe, you know, and breakouts and stuff, you know. Uh that’s what Gali wants us to do and and uh yeah, we just got to execute a little bit better than we did last game. But yeah, there’s more more freedom, I would say. What do you expect to know? The first home opener you’ve had? Yeah, I’m excited. you know, really, really good fans here in Dallas. So, so I’m excited to see the atmosphere. I think it’s going to be a good one. So, so, uh, yeah, just overall really excited. Who’s going to have the best outfit on the team? Got to go rope hint. You know, he’s, uh, he’s got a lot of stuff in his closet, probably triple what I have, so I’m expecting good things. What are your thoughts, man? Is Dallas a hockey city in your opinion? I think so. You know, I think even playing here when I was in Colorado, it was always tough building to come to. It was always so sellout and and loud. You know, Texas kind, you know, rowdy and and so it’s it’s been good. And uh I think it’s a hockey city. You know, I understand Cowboys are probably biggest football team in the country, but but I think hockey is doing well here in Texas as well. Yeah, I think he’s been great. You know, he’s uh he’s very easy to play with. You know, he’s he’s, you know, easy to read, which we really appreciate as a linemate. And he does all the, you know, not always the flashier stuff, but he does it so linemates have more room to operate and and just a very overall really good player in both ways. a young guy like Justin Buscoian trying to make himself in the NHL and he stands up for Miro on Saturday night. What does that do for the locker room? Yeah, it’s you know good for good for him and we were happy for him and that’s what we need in this team you know we need to have that kind of grittiness in our game you know and when some someone like Miro gets bumped like that you know from behind we want we don’t want to just take it we want to give it back and uh so good really good for him and I think he’s been really good for us notic in the first few games you guys have scored quite a few goals interior you’ve gotten to the crease you’ve done kind of playoff style goals early is that a point of emphasis from Gully He wants you guys playing that way now, not waiting till the playoffs. Yeah. Yeah. You know, we want to get in into interior as much as we can. You know, at le most of the goals are scored from there, even in regular season. Obviously, there’s flashy plays every now and then, but if you look at the stats, probably more more goals are scored there than from the outside. So, so it’s important that we go there early.

Jake Oettinger and Mikko Rantanen are ready for the Dallas Stars’ first home game of the season. From green carpet fits to shootout strategy and early-season momentum, the two talk about what’s clicking, how the new system gives them more freedom, and what they expect from a rowdy Dallas crowd.

The Stars are 2–0 and looking to keep rolling in front of their home fans.