SB Nation - Jere Lehtinen

Stargazing: Stars Lose to Kings in Shootout, 3-2

Brad G — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:01:23 -0000

Stargazing is a daily assortment of Dallas Stars and Texas Stars news, and whatever other random ramblings are bouncing around inside our heads.

On Saturday night the Dallas Stars surrendered points five and six on the year to the Los Angeles Kings, and as a direct result we all woke up in a world where the Kings are in first place in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings are still in 9th place. The world is a strange place.

It is a fascinating thing to look at the Western Conference standings. Some teams are as many as 34 games in to the season, and yet the group seems to creep forward at the same pace, with little separation from one end to the other. The Stars are stuck in the middle, seven points out of first place and seven points out of last place. I wrote those words many weeks ago but didn't think the situation would remain the same nearly halfway through the year. When the overtime loss point is handed out seemingly every other game, it's not hard to see why.

Dallas has completed three games of a five game trip, all against Pacific Division opponents. Some see this as a stretch where the Stars earned 4 out of a possible 6 points. They also gave away 5. Is this is a good thing? I think it's more of the same. The Stars are shuffling their feet with the rest of the pile, but they're not gaining, or losing any ground. For a team that can't score more than twice a night, this can be considered a good thing.

We theorized before the trip started that this would be a stretch that defined the rest of the Stars' season: They would fall behind and begin playing catchup the rest of the year, or they would come together and finally take a step forward. Through three games it appears as though it's neither. As long as they keep treading water, there is still time...

After the jump, reaction and quotes from Los Angeles and their 7th shootout loss of the year...

First, we take a second to reflect on a milestone that gets lost in the disappointment:

Modano gave the Stars a 2-1 lead when he took a feed from Jere Lehtinen -- who notched his 500th career point -- and beat Quick from the slot for his fifth goal of the season, but Kopitar tied the game in the final minute of the second when he beat Auld glove side for his 16th goal of the season.

500 points for Jere Lehtinen. We've been focused on how we're going to replace him (Loui Eriksson) and not how much we appreciate what he's done here. 500 points is a fine mark for a model NHL player and human being.

Mike Heika looks for the good...

Lots of good in the game.

I though Alex Auld was solid. Matt Niskanen might have had his most physical game. Jere Lehtinen looks like he's getting back to his old form. Mike Modano had jump. The top two lines created scoring chances.

That said, they lost again.

On the good side, they got four out fo six points on a tough road trip. On the bad side, the three Pacfic Division opponents got five points in these games.

I wish I could comment. I was told I would start seeing the game on FSN on Verizon FiOS at around 10:30, but the Mavericks went to overtime and then FSN did a 45 minute post game show, and I only saw the third period.

Alex Auld was definitely a bright spot (so I hear) and has played well in his last three outings...

"My job is to stay ready whenever. I knew about this game for about a week now. I felt good out there. Probably the only area that I felt like I had some time off was playing the puck and the little movements to the defense, but other than that I felt pretty good. These are the games that you want to be in. You want to be in games that matter against good teams, and this team is probably playing as good as anybody in the league."

That link brought to you buy Kings Insider. The only thing I like about playing the Kings is that resource. It's a really great blog, and the hockey community would be better served if more teams had guys like that following them around.

Speaking of Rich Hammond, he puts the Kings accomplishments in perspective:

After years of talk, talk about hope, about prospects, about the future, the Kings now have something tangible to point to in their rebuilding process: the top of the standings.

The Kings’ 3-2 shootout victory over Dallas, before a sellout crowd at STAPLES Center on Saturday night, coupled with San Jose’s loss to Phoenix, put the Kings atop the Western Conference standings for the first time this season.

There are still four months remaining in the season, but for a team that has scraped the bottom of the conference for the past three seasons, it’s quite an accomplishment.

The Kings have 45 points in 34 games, same as San Jose, but the Kings have 21 wins, two more than San Jose, and that is the first tiebreaker. Calgary, which has 42 points, has three games in hand over the Kings and has 19 victories.

They have 21 wins? Ugh. How long before the Stars have 21 wins?

As for the shootout itself, I DID see that, and once again I was not pleased. Again we saw a Stars goaltender give his team ample opportunity to get the job done, but the shooters failed, and in increasingly different and exciting ways:

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick poke-checked a puck off of Ribeiro's stick. The puck went almost immediately off of Ribeiro's skate and right into the net. However, because the forward momentum of the puck was stopped, the goal did not count. As a result, Michal Handzus' goal in the fourth round against Alex Auld held up as the winner in a 3-2 victory for the Kings.

"Tough luck for us, and that's too bad," said Stars coach Marc Crawford. "I thought we played pretty well. I thought we really came on in the third period ... I loved the way we played in the third period and into overtime."

At least they're keeping it interesting.

Mark Fistric had an interesting night prior to the game, and had to sit this one out:

He had some kind of parasite and actually had to go the hospital last night after the team landed in Los Angeles.

He's fine now, according to coach Marc Crawford, but he's just drained from the experience.

Jeff Woywitka will jump in.

Richard Durrett of ESPN is choosing to look at things in a positive light:

How you look at this road trip is all about perspective. The Stars got four out of a possible six points on this California swing. Of course, those were Pacific Division opponents and they got points too based on how the games went (an overtime loss to Anaheim, a shootout win against San Jose and a shootout loss to LA). The Stars sit eighth in the Western Conference, a point ahead of Detroit and two ahead of Vancouver.

I choose to look at this as a glass half full kind of thing. Some players are starting to step up, in particular Matt Niskanen who is getting more comfortable out there with every game and starting to asert himself. Both goalies are playing well. You take four of six points every time on a trips like this, no matter how the other teams do. But that's just me.

Mike Ribeiro:

"(In Anaheim,) we kind of gave that one away and tonight, losing in a shootout, we’ll take the point. but it’s hard knowing that we could have had more points than we have. L.A.’s been playing pretty well lately. We will take those points but we knew that we could have more if we played 60 minutes. We have a few days to get our legs back and get ready for the next game."

Marc Crawford:

(on Ribeiro’s shootout attempt): "It was forward progress. Once the goalie touches it, it’s deemed forward progress. Tough luck for us, and that’s too bad. It was a great game. I thought the fans certainly got their money’s worth. I thought we played really well. I thought we really came on in the third period. It was an entertaining game and the shootout was entertaining."
(on the game): "(Auld) played well in net and we had a little bit of a slip in our play in the second period. But I loved the way we played in the third and in the overtime we carried the puck really well and put pucks on the net."

Dallas Stars 2010 Olympic Hockey Preview

Art_M — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

It's very possible that come February these two could be on opposing teams and it's also very possible that it's Modano - not Morrow - wearing a C for his team.

Browse more photos »

The Olympic games in Vancouver are 75 days away but most national teams for the much anticipated hockey tournament will be announcing their rosters around the January 1st mark and with that in mind, all the various hockey blogs of SBNation are taking a look at their own rosters and previewing who should be making plans for a trip to Vancouver to those who maybe can expect a couple of weeks off in February.

Today is our turn as we take a look at the Dallas Stars lineup.

Pack Your Bags!

Loui Eriksson (Sweden) - It could be in a third or even in a second line role depending on how the likes of Kristian Huselius and Daniel Sedin play the next month or so, but make no mistake that Loui - who is on pace for another 30 goal season this year - will be joining the defending gold medalists from Turin, Italy.

Karlis Skrastins (Latvia) - This is kind of a no-brainier considering how thin Latvia is in all positions. Still, as we've seen so far this season Karlis is a very steady defenseman who also doubles as a puck magnet when opposing players take shots. He's going to be on the team's top pairing, so unfortunately for Stars fans, we can expect him to have a few more bruises on his body after Vancouver.

We look at more players after the jump...

Nearly A Lock...

Brenden Morrow (Canada) - Before his knee injury last season and coming off his magnificent playoff run on 08, pretty much every hockey expert had Morrow as a lock to make Team Canada's checking line. Now coming off that injury not everyone is so sure and his recent goal-less drought has also had some people question his status. Still, Morrow is a prototypical Canadian player... hard nosed, gritty and still skilled enough to score goals. Unless he goes through another long goal-less stretch, he should be wearing a red maple leaf come Olympic time.

A Safe Bet...

Mike Modano (USA) - Sure the injury and his age are working against him, but since he's made his return he's played like a man on a mission with three goals and four assists in 11 games. It also helps that both US GM Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson are fans of Mike and have both suggested his leadership would be a welcome addition to the team. With that in mind, don't be shocked if Mike not only makes the team, but is the one wearing the captain's C when they hit the ice.

Jere Lehtinen (Finland) - It was hard to say if Jere should have been here or in the "Work To Do" section we'll feature in a moment... Jere not being a part of Team Finland almost seems crazy, but he's been injury prone the last couple of seasons and since his return this season he hasn't put up any numbers of note and is actually a -2 as I write this. Still, Finland on wing isn't as deep as other teams and his leadership and dedication to Finnish hockey should land him a roster spot.

In A Battle...

Stephane Robidas (Canada) - If he was from any other country (save for Sweden as we'll talk about in a moment...) he'd probably be a lock, but sadly he's from Canada where the country could ice three teams for the tournament and all three would contend for gold. His offensive numbers both five on five and on the powerplay and his hard nosed play (pardon the pun) have justified Hockey Canada's choice to have him as part of the September orientation camp, but with so much big name talent in front of him, Robi will have to play near flawless hockey from here until the end of the year to get a shot at making the team.

Nicklas Grossman (Sweden) - Grossman faces the same problem Robidas does, Sweden is pretty deep on defense and while Grossman has had a solid year defensively, the lack of any kind of offensive numbers may hurt his chances overall. If Sweden though is interested in having a defensive corps of large stay-at-home defenders that can hit , Grossman may just get the call.

You Have Work To Do!

Marty Turco (Canada) - The Carolina Hurricanes Cam Ward may have been a lock for Team Canada before his injury and Steve Mason of the Blue Jackets also had some early buzz going for him, but he's struggled so far this year. Turco has been a loyal Team Canada soldier for years and his puck playing ability does make Team Canada management salivate at the idea of constant breakout passes. Problem is Martin Brodeur is a near lock as starter and unless they really stumble, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury are pretty much penned in as his backups, so Turco needs to continue to improve and stay as far away from games like he just had against Phoenix last night.

Moving On Up!

Brad Richards (Canada) - Five years ago coming off a Conn Smythe Trophy winning playoff, Richards would have been a lock to make any kind of Team Canada, but as you may be well aware his stock has dropped considerably. This season though his play making ability has caught the eye of more than a few Canadians and while Canada is very, very deep at center, if Brad keeps up his MVP like play for the Stars, he will make it very hard for Team Canada officials to look away.

James Neal (Canada) - If Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dustin Penner of the Edmonton Oilers are causing many Canadians to take a second look, then you can throw James Neal into that group as well as his offensive numbers are comparable to the two not to mention Neal brings a physical side that Stamkos lacks and speed that Penner lacks. Maybe in four years if NHLers are part of the 2014 games, The Real Deal is a lock for Team Canada, but for now it's a long shot.

Tom Wandell (Sweden) - Speaking of long shots, that brings us to Tommy who is a very long shot to make Tre Kronor. Still, Wandell has shown a slight nose for the net and more importantly has shown he can play a solid two-way game and has been on the ice many times for Marc Crawford in critical situations at the end of the game where the Stars lead by one and need a defensive stop. Sweden has too much depth at forward for Wandell to crack the lineup, but he's still managed to catch some eyes this season.

Headed On Down...

Matt Niskanen (USA) - Last year coming off a solid second season, Matt was part of the US National team for the 2009 World Championships and was pretty good for them in the nine games he played with the team and many thought he had a solid chance at making the Olympics. Since then though he wasn't invited to the US orientation camp and this season has been a rough one for the young Nisky. Team USA will probably decide to pass on a player who is starting to look more and more like a defensive liability this year.

A Tribute to Reunion Arena

Brandon Bibb — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:00:24 -0000

Tuesday, the last few pillars holding up the roof on the first Texas home of the Stars came crashing down (for some reason, I'm not able to embed the video into this post).

Since 1980, it also hosted an NBA expansion franchise known as the Dallas Mavericks, an indoor soccer team known as the Dallas Sidekicks, the SWC Men's Basketball Tournament, a Republican National Convention in 1984, an NBA All Star Game in 1986, a Final Four in 1988, and the WCT Tennis Tournament (which forced Game 5 of the Mavericks' first ever playoff series against Seattle to be moved to Moody Coliseum back in the spring of 1984)

TheBigAndTheBrown has his favorite Reunion Arena-era memories posted over at our sister site, Mavs Moneyball. But the Stars were able to fill the barn with quite a few of their own memories in the eight years that they called the building their own.

After the jump, I'll post my Top 5 memories, which was hard to choose as you can imagine. Quite probable it'll spark a little debate as well.

5. The Hullennium - To say the Stars defense of their lone Cup was going shaky in the first couple of months in the 1999-00 season would be an understatement. They had actually sunk to last place in the Pacific about a month into the season and were treading water through the end of the calendar year in 1999.

The Ducks came to town for the annual New Year's Eve game. And IIRC, this was also Jere Lehtinen's first game of the year. His start to the 1999-00 campaign was derailed by injury. But he took his first shift of the night and moments later, opened the scoring in what would become a back and forth affair.

And oh by the way, Brett Hull was stuck on 599 goals coming into this contest. He was still stuck on that number, just 1shy of the 600 goal mark when he took a shift midway through the 3rd with the Stars down a goal. Hull, like he always had during his career, somehow found himself open in the slot, and whipped home the milestone goal just before midnight Eastern.

The timing on the goal was so perfect that when Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve panned a shot of Times Square right after the City of New York celebrated the birth of a new millennium, there was news of Hull's milestone goal scrolling across one of the electronic boards.

Hull decided his 600th goal of his career wasn't good enough for that night. So he went out and scored goal 601 shortly thereafter to lead the Stars to a win that night. A win I think jumpstarted the Stars to a very strong second half of the season en route to a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals that year.

4. Opening Night of the 1999-2000 season - I think you all know why.

They had skated the Cup up in Buffalo in the wee hours of a Sunday morning. They brought the Cup back to Reunion a few days later for the victory parade and rally at Reunion.

But they never actually skated the Cup on their home ice. That is, until Derian Hatcher came out of the Zamboni entrance with the Cup held high to a thunderous applause from the sellout crowd.

Oh yeah, they did raise a banner that night and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins to officially open defense of their title. But the lasting memory of that night will always be seeing Hatch skate the Cup on Reunion Arena ice.

3. Devils win Stanley Cup in double OT in Game 6, June 10th, 2000 - I never said this would be a list of my most favorite Stars' memories at Reunion.

But as a hockey fan, I'd be remiss if I didn't include this game because I think it encapsulated the entire series between the Stars and Devils. On one side, you had a very determined Devils' squad that was certainly better than the Stars on paper and had pushed Dallas to the brink after winning Games 3 and 4 at Reunion to take a 3-1 series lead.

But there's an axiom in playoff hockey that the hardest game to win in any series is the last one. And the Stars proved in the next few games just determined they were to make the Devils truly earn it in 2000. First, they staved off elimination in a scoreless Game 5 that lasted until Mike Modano tipped a Brett Hull shot from the point past Marty Brodeur in triple OT to force a Game 6. Then in Game 6 back in Dallas, they battled New Jersey to double OT before Patrick Elias' pass from the corner found Jason Arnott all alone in front of Ed Belfour to silence the crowd and finally wrest control of the Cup away from the Stars.

Dallas had lost the war. But they held their heads high through the handshake line and the crowd showed just how appreciative they were that their Stars didn't go quietly after falling into a 3-1 hole that year.

Besides, win or lose, it's cool to see the Stanley Cup presented on your ice. Not many buildings in the NHL can lay claim to that.

2. First Stars home game at Reunion, October 3rd, 1993 - I'm sure much of the crowd that night wasn't really sure what to expect when they set foot inside Reunion that night. Obviously, the visiting Red Wings were well represented as they are in every arena in the NHL it seems.

But when Neal Broten poked home the first goal in Dallas Stars' history at Reunion past Tim Cheveldae in a goal mouth scramble, it started a love affair between the team and it's fans that continues to this day.

The Stars went on to win that game by the score of 6-4.

1. Game 7 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals, June 4, 1999 - No, I didn't get to experience this game in person. Too bad, because I'd never heard Reunion Arena as loud as it was on this night when the crowd was into the game from the drop of the puck and gave the Stars momentum that they would never relinquish to the Avalanche in a 4-1 rout that sent the Stars to their first Stanley Cup Finals since moving down from Minnesota.

Finnish Prospects in the NHL

Hawerchuk — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:33:37 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

What are the odds the Oilers have another Mikko Koivu on their hands?

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About Teemu Hartikainen, Scott Reynolds asks:

"how many 19-year-olds put up between 0.45 and 0.75 points per game in the SM-Liiga and never make it to the NHL? I don’t know the answer but I think it would be good to know before you convince the guy to buy a house in Edmonton."

Between 1980 and 2004, 22 players have met this criteria (adjusting to last year's offensive levels - 2.61 G/G, 1.66 A/G.) Here's the list, showing their NHL scoring through age 25:

	Season	FNL PPG	NHL GP	NHL G	NHL A	NHL PTS
Reijo Ruotsalainen	1980	0.61	389	99	217	316
Joni Pitkanen	2003	0.62	340	40	135	175
Mikko Koivu	2003	0.57	282	57	127	184
Jere Lehtinen	1993	0.51	266	65	100	165
Sami Kapanen	1993	0.50	242	68	88	156
Niko Kapanen	1998	0.51	158	6	35	41
Hannu Jarvenpaa	1983	0.47	114	11	26	37
Ville Peltonen	1993	0.70	73	9	19	28
Tony Salmelainen	2001	0.51	70	6	12	18
Juha Lind	1994	0.48	39	2	3	5
Janne Kekalainen	1990	0.50	27	4	3	7
Vesa Viitakoski	1991	0.73	23	2	4	6
Tuomas Pihlman	2003	0.66	15	1	1	2
Jarkko Varvio	1992	0.61	13	3	4	7
Marko Jantunen	1991	0.57	3	0	0	0
Tony Arima	1981	0.57	0	0	0	0
Timo Saarikoski	1989	0.52	0	0	0	0
Keijo Sailynoja	1990	0.49	0	0	0	0
Tommi Pullola	1991	0.60	0	0	0	0
Mikko Luovi	1993	0.45	0	0	0	0
Kimmo Rintanen	1993	0.66	0	0	0	0
Janne Laakkonen	2002	0.57	0	0	0	0

Average		0.56	93	17	35	52

Niko Kapanen and Ville Peltonen were late-bloomers and did more in their late 20s. That gives Hartikainen a 33% chance of having a reasonable NHL career and a 25% chance of playing regularly during his entry-level contract. But don't expect anything anytime soon - only Pitkanen and Ruotsalainen played regularly in the NHL before they were 22.

Stargazing: Stars Gear Up for Tough Road Test

Brad G — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:30:34 -0000

Stargazing is a daily assortment of Dallas Stars and Texas Stars news, and whatever other random ramblings are bouncing around inside our heads.

The Stars' four day break is coming to a close, and a trio of stout road tests starts tomorrow night in San Jose with the Sharks. This was the Dallas' longest break between games this year, not counting the Olympic break of course. They have only two more breaks of at least three days remaining, one of which is next week before the team travels to Detroit. After that, the remainder of the season will come at a dizzying pace.

Dallas has used the time to become relatively healthy. Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen both returned to the lineup for three consecutive games, and strange and wonderful as it sounds, both remain healthy a week later. James Neal has returned to practice as has Krys Barch. Brad Richards and his nagging soreness surely benefit from the break as well. The health of the team, tenuous as it is, is a welcome improvement over the woes of last winter.

Turning our attention to the Sharks: They've just won their 10th game in their last 12 tries. They have once again, as we knew they would, risen authoritatively to the top of the division. Last year on November 11th, the Sharks were 14 points ahead of the Stars. This year, they're 8 points ahead and the Stars have two games in hand. Dallas will see Phoenix on Saturday night, and then will likely to stop back home for a day or two before continuing their "road trip" in Detroit on Wednesday.

After the jump: More on Brett Hull's HOF induction; Lines for tomorrow's game; Is Steve Ott getting suspended again? A new Stars injury? And more Stars news and notes...

Steve Ott has another city in an uproar, and the Star Tribune updates the possibility of punishment:

With Petr Sykora recovering at home from a concussion, Wild coach Todd Richards said Tuesday he doesn't expect NHL officials to discipline Dallas center Steve Ott for the hit that blasted Sykora's head into the glass Saturday. But dangerous shots to the head -- and the serious injuries they cause -- will be discussed by the league's general managers as they conclude their fall meetings in Toronto today.

...

Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said he didn't consider it a dirty play.

"It's part of hockey," he said. "You never want to have anyone get injured, but some things are unavoidable in a contact sport."

And yesterday, they reported that lack of video may spare Ott:

Richards does not anticipate the NHL will discipline Steve Ott for his hit on Petr Sykora. He said the hit was not easily seen on the video, which would hamper NHL officials' ability to review it. As for Sykora, Richards said he is feeling better, and the fact that he is coming around quickly is a good sign. "It's not a lingering thing where he's kind of in limbo, so that's positive,'' Richards said.

I suppose that's why I haven't seen it again anywhere. It's hard to comment on, so we'll cross our fingers that Ott is more careful in the future so he can stay on the ice, and move on.

Fabian Brunnstrom is listed as day to day with a shoulder injury sustained in practice this week. Mike Heika reports the lines from Wednesday's practice as the following:

Here were the lines Crawford went with today, and they appear to be the lines he will use against the Sharks.

Neal-Richards-Eriksson
Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn
Petersen-Modano-Lehtinen
Ott-Wandell-Barch

Grossman-Robidas
Skrastins-Niskanen
Fistric-Daley

Turco

It appears Brian Sutherby and Jeff Woywitka will be your healthy scratches.

So Sutherby sits, and Ott will play 4th line minutes. It just goes to show you how dramatically things can change for a player based on the health of the team. Everyone must be prepared to do their part and play where they must.

Richard Durrett has some nice comments from Mike Modano regarding Hull's induction, and possibility of his own inclusion someday:

"It was good," Modano said. "It was short and sweet, about an hour. They are only allowed four or five minutes to talk. It was a bit of a zoo. Everybody has a lot of friends and family. We were there to show our support."

Modano admitted that he couldn't help but think about what it might be like to be inducted one day himself.

"That would be a fitting end to anybody's career," Modano said. "You don't think about that when you start playing. You're not thinking whether you're Hall of Fame caliber. You play because it's fun and you have a good time, but to culminate in that would be pretty awesome. I can only imagine how humbling it is or how fortunate it would be to be recognized."

Personally, I'd like to see Mike pile a couple dozen more goals on before we start thinking about things like.

The USA Today reports that the Blues will honor Brett in St. Louis on December 15th:

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Blues plan a ceremony on Dec. 15 to honor Brett Hull's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Hull will be honored prior to a game involving his first two teams, Calgary and St. Louis. Plans for the ceremony were announced Tuesday.

Hull began his career with the Flames in 1986 and came to St. Louis in a trade in 1988. He scored a career-high 86 goals and was the league MVP in 1990-91, and followed that with two more 70-plus goal seasons. All told, he had 741 goals and 650 assists in 19 NHL seasons.

Hull was inducted into the Hall of Fame Monday.

The Stars don't play that night. I guess you can borrow him.

Mike Heika says the opposition has started targeting James Neal, seeking to were him down with physical play and desirable defensive match-ups:

"You're out there playing against big, tough guys, and it's a challenge every night, and you have to be ready for it. I think if you're confident in what you're doing, you'll be fine."

Neal is confident, but does he have to adjust his game to survive the physical abuse? Some targeted players have worn down over time. Some find a way to deftly avoid hits. Others move out of the danger zone and become less effective.

"I think he can give it pretty well, and he's used to that type of game, so I don't see him changing," Richards said. "If he wants to play a different type of game and not go to the net, then he probably wouldn't have his nine goals. Unfortunately for your body sometimes, that's just the way it goes."

While I'd like to see James take good care of himself, I think that like Brenden Morrow, he's not going to back down.

Dallasstars.com has notes on practice, and the four day break:

With four days off between games, the Stars have been making the most of their practices.

"We don’t get a lot of practice time, so this is a great practice block for us," says Head Coach Marc Crawford. "We let the guys know right away that it was going to be hard for these two days and it was. I really appreciated their effort and their intensity. It’s tough to stay intense for the amount of time that you practice. If you’re only doing it for a short amount of time it’s a little bit easier. But here, we’re over an hour each day, an hour 15 yesterday and hour and five or 10 today. All hard drills, all really action packed and all lots of intensity lots of physical plays. You run the risk that you do get a bump and a bruise. We got one, but we got a couple of guys back and otherwise we got through it pretty positively."

The Stars get ESPN props, albeit in a Fantasy Hockey context, but it's flattering all the same:

...Take the Dallas Stars for example. The Stars finished 20th in the league last season for scoring, were a collective minus-63 and were coming into this season with essentially all the same puzzle pieces except for their blue-line offensive catalyst who bolted for Russia (Sergei Zubov). Most folks expected things to turn around a bit for the Stars if they were blessed with a healthy Brenden Morrow and Brad Richards, but to be tied for fifth in the league in scoring at this point was not expected. The Stars have four players on pace to top 30 goals after having only one score more than 24 last season.

Loui Eriksson and Richards are the two biggest risers this week as I have to tip my hat to coach Marc Crawford and the Stars. Crawford is letting his players attack the net and relying on the burgeoning stalwarts on the blue line to handle things in their own end.

Marc Crawford Shaking Things Up; Steve Ott In Trouble Again?

Brandon Worley — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:36:02 -0000

More photos » by Matt Sayles - AP

Yeah...the Stars need this guy back.

Browse more photos »

A couple of quick, interesting notes from today's practice where Marc Crawford had the lines all askew. In the wake of another disappointing loss, the Stars are searching for the perfect combination of players to give the team consistency from game to game. Last week, the Stars had two games where they combined for 87 shots and just four goals; they showed some incredible offensive firepower but the team as a whole is still 1-2-2 in the past five games.

After the jump a glance at the new look the Stars had at practice today, and is Steve Ott in trouble again?

Today at practice, Crawford went with some line combinations we have yet to see:

Crawford had Jamie Benn back on the right wing with Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow and moved Jere Lehtinen down to the Mike Modano line. Lehtinen was playing the right wing, while Fabian Brunnstrom was playing the left wing. Those are two lines Crawford seems intent on keeping going forward.

He had Brian Sutherby on the left wing with Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson, and you have to believe Neal will get his spot back if he is ready to go Thursday. So, what does that mean for the fourth line of Steve Ott-Tom Wandell-Toby Petersen? Where would Sutherby fit?

For those keeping count, here's what the line combos were at practice today:

Sutherby - Richards - Eriksson
Morrow - Ribeiro - Benn
Brunnstrom - Modano - Lehtinen
Ott - Wandell - Petersen

With Crawford seemingly intent on keeping the Ribeiro and Modano lines above going into Thursday's game, there is going to be some interesting decisions to be made once Neal and Barch return. A good problem to have? What lines would you use?

Mike Heika makes a good point that Crawford's desire to keep every player involved in practices and from game to game might be contributing to it's lack of consistency. I'd have to go back and really look at it, but it seems as if the Stars have only played the same lineup two games in a row once or twice this season. While injuries and suspensions have required some maneuvering at times, it would be nice to find a good combination of lines and just ride with them for a few games.

Could Steve Ott be in trouble with the NHL again? It seems that Petr Sykora and the Minnesota Wild claim that Ott hit Sykora in the head with his elbow and he should be suspended. Sykora did not practice today is reportedly suffering from headaches. Here's what Michael Russo has to say:

Wild players all were talking about the hit this morning and how the league "better suspend" Ott. We will see. Unlike Derek Boogaard's elbow last year on Brandon Prust, there wasn't an outcry on this one in Canada, like for instance this link (watch the YouTube) with the broadcaster actually naming what the suspension should be (five games) and then Boogaard amazingly enough getting five games.

Well, Ott took a leaping elbow into the head on Sykora in my opinion. The league allegedly wants to rid head shots, well, then throw the book at Ott, too. Or maybe Stephane Robidas for his textbook boarding on Mikko Koivu last night that was somehow missed.

I'll see if I can find video of the Ott hit on Sykora. Without a clear memory of what happened, I don't have an opinion on what exactly should happen.

In any case, let's just hope it wasn't as bad as the Wild are making it out to be; the next time Ott is suspended it could be for a pretty long time.

Last Hurrah for Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen?

Brandon Worley — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:09:26 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Savor this sight, Stars fans.

Browse more photos »

Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen return tonight to be together on the ice for the first time since last season, in what is mostly likely their final season with the Dallas Stars.

The Dallas Stars have officially announced that the two have been activated off of injured reserve, and tonight's game will be the first in an unknown amount of games that countdown the end of an extraordinary era in franchise history.

Modano is in the final year of his contract and has taken time to decide on his career in each of the past few summers. He's a lock for the NHL Hall of Fame, is the highest scoring American in NHL history and owns nearly every significant record in Stars franchise history. This is his final shot to represent the USA in the Olympics and hopefully lead them to a medal in Vancouver, something that will be an extremely tough task. While he has played in less than 76 games just twice in his long career, the game has taken a toll on his body. All signs point to this being his final season.

Jere Lehtinen, for so long, was known as the most athletic and fit player on this team if not the NHL. Yet injuries have hampered him on and off throughout his career, and the past few years it seems as if it's just a matter of time before he shows back up on the injury report. He signed a one-year contract over the summer and as Brandon Bibb said so well, both the Stars and Lehtinen knew that whatever he provided on the ice this summer would be gravy.

As the Stars get ready to face the Calgary Flames tonight with a full and healthy roster tonight, Stars fans should savor each and every game these two players appear together in during this season. Lehtinen and Modano are the only remaining active players on the Stars left from the 1999 Stanley Cup Champions. Joe Nieuwendyk and Brett Hull are in the front office, yet once those two retire all traces of that magical team on the ice will be gone.

We've been hanging on to that era for so long, it will feel extremely strange to think that there might come a time when neither of them will be a member of the Dallas Stars. Who knows what might happen when both of them retire, and there is a chance they could still return next season.

Jere Lehtinen and Mike Modano are not just nostalgic veterans hanging on the final throes of a long career; both still have talent and ability and will add a new and better dimension to the Dallas Stars that we have yet to see this season. It's exciting to think what might happen with this team when fully healthy, and with both of these veterans healthy and on the ice this team has an extremely high ceiling.

Savor tonight's game Stars fans, and enjoy watching two of the greatest players in franchise history. There's no telling how long that might last.

Gameday Preview: Calgary Flames @ Dallas Stars

Brandon Worley — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:08:05 -0000

Next Game

Calgary Flames (7-4-1)
@ Dallas Stars (6-3-5)

Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009, 7:35 PM CST
American Airlines Center

Local TV: My 27
Radio: KTCK 1310 The Ticket

Opponent's Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline

Complete Coverage >

It feels like forever since we've had a game. With such a busy schedule in October, it's odd to have nearly four days between games...and it seems a lot has changed in such a short amount of time.

The Stars enter November with a good start but there is certainly room for improvement in nearly every area of their game. They're still getting comfortable with Marc Crawford's system and the goaltending has been a bit inconsistent (but overall impressive on the whole), and now the Stars will seemingly be putting a bit of a different team on the ice tonight against the Flames.

The Dallas Stars:

With Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen returning to the ice, the Stars have shaken things up a bit. Lehtinen will be joining his old linemates of Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro, while Jamie Benn will slide down to join Modano and Steve Ott.

While Brad Richards and his line have been playing out of their minds through 14 games, the rest of the forwards have had a bit of difficulty with sustained execution and chemistry. Perhaps things were getting a bit stale early in the season and the team fought through some nagging injuries and a brutal schedule.

With three full days to rest and with two veteran forwards set to return, the Stars should hit the ice full of energy and with new life. It finally seems as if this is a whole team again, as it's been a very long time since the Stars have gone this long without Modano on the ice (and will have to get used to that eventually). Modano provides immediate stability on the third line, while Lehtinen will hopefully spark Morrow and Ribeiro enough to get them out of whatever funk they may be in.

Marty Turco will also be back in net after missing two games with 'flu-like symptoms'.

Expected lines:

Neal-Richards-Eriksson
Morrow-Ribeiro-Lehtinen
Ott-Modano-Benn
Sutherby-Wandell-Brunnstrom

Grossman-Robidas
Skrastins-Daley
Fistric-Niskanen

Turco

The Calgary Flames:

In their first meeting against the Flames on October 9th, the Stars got their first win of the season behind a solid effort by Alex Auld and opportunistic offense in the third period. Although the Flames have an admirable record (like the Stars) to start the season, they are coming off two straight losses and the team isn't happy with how things have been going. From Matchsticks and Gasoline:

After an indifferent finish to the Flames' homestand, the boss decided he'd seen quite enough, with a practice meant to shake a few people up. I'm skeptical when it comes to the long term effects, so the fact that the players said all the right things won't mean much until the results match the words.

The lines appear set for another adjustment, with Nystrom getting a chance to work with the reunited Jokinen-Iginla pairing. I'm on the record as "not a fan" of that duo, although the next two lines of Bourque-Langkow-Dawes and Glencross-Boyd-Moss are good by me. My hope for Boyd this year was that he superceded Conroy based on good play, and not because the Flames' elder statesman fell off a cliff. There's enough evidence of that to be reassured on that point at least.

Kipper 5 v 5: 3-14 vs. Colorado, 2-25 vs. Detroit. Season total - 21 GA, 256 SA, .918 5 v 5 SV%. Sort of a meh week for the Flames' netminder. An extra save or two would have been nice, but I can't really blame him for the team's results, because slack-ass work from the skaters drove the results into the ditch against the Avs and Wings.

Projected lines [UPDATED]:

Nystrom-Jokinen-Iginla
Bourque-Langkow-Dawes
Glencross-Boyd-Moss
Prust-Conroy-Sjostrom

Regher-Phaneuf
Bouwmeester-Sarich
Pardy-Giordano

McElhinney

Key Injuries:

Dallas: None

Calgary: Mikka Kiprusoff will miss tonight's game with what Flames head coach Brent Sutter is calling, 'a touch of the bug', according to the Calgary Herald's Flames Insider. Kiprusoff stayed at the team hotel during Calgary's morning skate but will be on the bench to serve as Curtis McElhinney's backup. [Update from Brandon Bibb at 4:22 pm CST]

Tuesday links: Seeking the fire we had last year edition

averagejoe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:00:37 -0000

It's Tuesday. That's all I have to say today. Links? Links.

Blues news

Headline: Blues struggling to score goals. Deck: Pope remains Catholic. [Belleville News-Democrat]
But hey, at least Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo are playing well. [Sporting News]
Seriously, EJ and Petro are living up to their potential. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Some notes on the Riverman and Ed Belfour. Good news, captain Yan Stastny isn't seriously hurt. [Peoria Journal Star]
The team is trying to find the fire it had last year. Yep, that's what's missing -- fire. Not goals or players like David Backes playing up to their potential, it's fire. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Hockey news

Results from last night. Islanders, Flyers and Kings all are winners.[Yahoo! Sports]
Five games tonight. My game of the night? Rangers vs. Cancuks. [Yahoo! Sports]
The Flames are 7-4-1, but could they be better? [Matchsticks and Gasoline]
Ducks' d-man James Wisniewski suspended for a hit to the head. [ESPN]
Anaheim Calling tackles hits to the heads. [Anaheim Calling]
OdinMercer rejoices: the NHL is buying the Coyotes. [Five for Fowling]
Alex Ovechkin is week to week. Not good times for the Caps. [ESPN]
Speaking of injuries, Simon Gagne is going to miss a few weeks. [ESPN]
Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen are close to coming back. [ESPN Dallas]
More injury news: Jason Spezza is out.[TSN]
In still injured news, Phil Kessel is still out. Still. [TSN]

Other links

Man gets caught cheating by standing on an a/c window unit in the nude. Seriously. [Blame it on the voices]
Big Ben, the clock, is on Twitter.[Twitter]
I know this Web site all too well. I think the only people that read newspapers anymore are the easily angered. [Angry people in local newspapers]
People google the dumbest fucking things. [gtards]
The Simpson's are famous for fake products. Here are some good ones. [Guyism]

Video

RFJCC sends along a video I was going to show anyway. Am I worried I'm thinking like him? Not really. Christopher Walken is bad ass.

gametimelinks(at)gmail.com. Keep it real, kids.

Dallas Stars Juggling Act: You Name the Lines

Brandon Worley — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:26:50 -0000

An update from practice today: Mark Fistric took a puck to the ankle today and had to be helped off the ice. No official word on his injury as of yet. Loui Eriksson sat out practice with 'flu-like symptoms', and Brad Richards was out to rest his sore groin.

It appears the Dallas Stars and Marc Crawford are prepared for a bit of a shakeup. Through the first 13 games, we've primarily seen the top two lines stay the exact same with a sort of rotation set on the third and fourth lines. The absence of Mike Modano since opening night has forced Crawford to become a bit creative with his third line, although Tom Wandell has settled into that spot fairly well.

Now with Jere Lehtinen and Mike Modano ready to take the ice, presumably as soon as Wednesday against Calgary, Crawford has decided to go in different although not exactly new, direction.

Piecing together the information provided by Mike Heika and Mark Stepneski from practice today it seems Crawford will be going with these lines:

Neal - Richards - Eriksson
Morrow - Ribeiro - Lehtinen
Ott - Modano - Benn
Sutherby - Wandell - Brunnstrom

With Ribeiro and Morrow struggling to find a rhythm together the past week or so, is putting them back together with Lehtinen the answer? Or should Crawford split them up?

Let us know your opinion in the comments.