SB Nation - Mike Modano

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."

Game Day Preview: Dallas Stars @ Los Angeles Kings (9:30p CS)

Brandon Worley — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:00:19 -0000

Next Game

Dallas Stars (14-8-9, 8th in the West)
@ Los Angeles Kings (20-10-3, 4th in the West)

Saturday, Dec 12, 2009, 9:30 PM CST
Staples Center

TV: FSSW+
Local Radio: KTCK 1310 The Ticket

Opponent's Blog: A Queen Among Kings | Battle of California

Complete Coverage >

Note: Tonight's game is being broadcast on FSN+. Here are the channels this network is carried on in the DFW area.

* Time Warner - Digital Channel 960 (requires digital cable box)
* DirecTV - Channel 677, Channel 677-1 HD
* Dish Network - Channel 448, Channel 9518-HD
* AT&T U-Verse - Channel 755, Channel 1755-HD

At 10:30, the broadcast will be picked up by the normal FSN carrier after the Mavericks post-game show.

The Dallas Stars continue their five-game road trip tonight with the last of a California three-game swing against the Los Angeles Kings. The Stars will once again try and carry over the momentum from a big win, after dropping the San Jose Sharks last night 3-2 in a shootout. The game was impressive (and important) for the Stars in a number of ways and should be the type of performance that hopefully pulls them away from this trend of inconsistency. Of course, we've said that same thing about a dozen times or so this season and the Stars face a difficult opponent tonight to try and put together that elusive winning streak.

Before we get onto to tonight's game, some more thoughts on the Stars' performance against the Sharks...

What impressed me the most about the game was the resolve the Stars showed not just after getting down 2-1, but actually to start the game. You could see the players' determination to bounce back from the debacle in Anaheim, and San Jose proved to be the perfect venue. Despite the one-goal deficit at the end of the first period, I felt that the Stars still had a good showing to start the game. They were aggressive on the forecheck, intent on being physical and pulled the Sharks into the exact type of game the Stars wanted them to. Yet the Sharks are the top team in the West for a reason, and showed that despite the distractions after the whistle they still have the ability to respond offensively.

What was tremendous to see was how the Stars responded coming out of the second period. They fixed the defensive mistakes they had to start the game and continued to put the pressure on the Sharks. While San Jose was able to contain the Stars to the perimeter of the offensive zone for much of the game, it was as if we were watching an old medieval siege; the Stars chipped away and chipped away at the defenses until finally breaking through in the third period.

Steve Ott gets a lot of credit for having a great game last night, and Brendan Morrow was just as effective as he constantly got under the skin of the Sharks in front of the net, yet it was the work by Mike Ribeiro that really stood out as the game progressed. He opened the scoring with a very 'un-Ribeiro' like goal when he tipped in a Daley pass, but provided much of the offensive pressure that kept the Sharks back on their heels for most of the game. What stood out to me was how the Stars ran their equivalent of the half-court offense, keeping the Sharks out of a run-and-gun game. This is the perfect approach for Ribeiro, who loves to slow the game down to his pace. He finished the game with six shots and five (!) hits, and in my mind set the tone for the rest of the team. It's something we haven't seen much of from Ribeiro this season and is something the Stars desperately need from him every game.

Goaltender news and injury notes for both teams after the jump.

The Dallas Stars:

Alex Auld is expected to get the start in net tonight for the Stars, a night after Marty Turco put on a masterful performance against the Sharks. It still feels like the best move however, especially since Auld has been solid in his past two games. One of the goals headed into the season was to get Turco the rest he needs, and the Stars are committed to that plan even if Turco is coming off a great win.

What was interesting about last night's game was the fact that Mike Modano sat on the bench in favor of Steve Ott and Tom Wandell in the third period:

Marc Crawford said Mike Modano was sat down for much of the third period and overtime (he played 1:24) not because he was playing poorly, but because Tom Wandell and Steve Ott were playing so well. Ott played 8:04 in the third period and OT, while Wandell played 6:18. Modano played 9:15 in the first two periods, but Crawford was worried about the match-up against Joe Thornton down the stretch.

It seems like he made a pretty good call on that one, as the Thornton line looked pretty frustrated in the third.

Modano, like the team as a whole, has been up and down this season. At times he shows the same skill and speed he's always had throughout his career and other times he disappears for long stretches during the game. The Stars had issues containing the Sharks' top scorers to start the game and there was a time when Mike Modano was the go-to guy to help shut them down. Yet Tom Wandell (and Steve Ott, who's turned into a faceoff specialist) has emerged as an intriguing matchup on the checking line and has shown he can give fits to opposing team's top lines.

That's not to say the Modano is being completely phased out, but it does seem that the Stars are starting to see the emergence of a young player who could perhaps take over the veteran's role when he does retire. It's also good to know the Stars have a player who can step in when Modano isn't as effective during a game.

There are murmurs that Crawford will be looking to insert some fresh legs tonight, so there's a good chance we see Brian Sutherby and/or Krys Barch tonight against the Kings.

The Los Angeles Kings:

It appears the Kings are for real. They are a team with intense resolve and concentration, who have gone 10-1-3 in one-goal games this season and who have perfected the art of finding any way to win. They aren't dominating by any stretch of the imagination, but they are extremely tough to beat.

The Kings are riding a three game winning streak and have won five of their last six. They are a hungry team that are sniffing the Sharks for first in the division, and will provide a tough for for the Stars tonight.

Los Angeles has won both game against the Stars this season, yet these two teams haven't played since October 22. You'd like to think that the Stars have grown and changed since then, but the Stars are still dealing with the same issues they had to start the season.

The lone exception would be the the Stars' penalty kill, which has improved to 14th in the NHL and 7th on the road. If there is one area of the game the Stars have to opportunity to take advantage of some of the Kings' shortcomings, it's going to come on special teams. L.A. is just 28th in the league in penalty kill percentage and are facing a Stars team that has started to become dangerous with the man advantage.

Despite the fact that the Kings have had a leg up on the Stars the past few seasons, the Stars showed last night they have the personnel and ability to skate with any team in the NHL.

Yet this game is being played at the Staples Center tonight, so all bets are off.

Key Injuries:

Dallas: None.

Los Angeles: LW Ryan Smyth (upper body), RW Brandon Segal (knee) and C Andrei Loktionov (shoulder) are out.

Ducks Win 4-3 in Yet Another Stars Overtime Loss

Art_M — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:32:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

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Oh you sneaky Dallas Stars... I'm on to you now! I finally figured out what your modus operandi is for this season!

You see I have it on good authority that a grade six kid in Plano last year did a school report on the possibility of an NHL team going an entire season playing nothing but overtime games and if they could make the playoffs with 82 overtime and shootout losses. The kid then forwarded his report (it got a B-minus by the way) to Marc Crawford before the start of training camp, and Crow being the ever inquisitive mind, figured "Why the hell not? I have three years on my contract, I can waste one."

Of course you Dallas Stars have kind of messed it up with the odd win in overtime and even once in a while *gasp* an odd regulation win... But you've pretty much stayed true to form and you keep losing in overtime and shootouts.

I'm on to you Stars. Oh boy, I am so on to you guys and while I tip my hat for such dedication to a cause, if you don't mind I do have a bit of advice concerning your 'plan' as you all move forward:

STOP IT!! For the love of Baby Hockey Jesus please stop this madness!!

The Stars had a 3-0 lead for nearly two full periods... and they blew it! It was like they tried to out-pathetic themselves from the Edmonton game.

"Hey... you guys think tanking a 2-0 lead was bad? Wait til ya see what we got planned for tonight!"

(The gory details after the jump...)

They had a great first period again which has been pretty much par for the course the last couple of weeks... Got goals from Brad Richards and Mike Modano... Both were beautiful plays. Richards was great out there and James Neal who was returned to the Richards line was playing well also. The defense was making nice crisp passes out of their zone. Steve Ott was banging and flying out there and even though he got stopped on yet another breakaway we Stars fans kinda laughed it off.

"Oh those Stars, always failing on breakaways and penalty shots... Ha ha..."

The Stars ended the first period up 2-0 and looking better than they had in weeks. Even their good efforts against Detroit and Edmonton couldn't match how well this first period went for Dallas. Not to mention the Ducks - who were going through a December that ranked only slightly better than Tiger Woods' December - were playing so bad that you could have sworn they reverted back to their mighty purple and teal, lets let Guy Hebert try to win this by himself days.

And then the second period hap... No... Wait... Actually the second period wasn't that bad either! At least it didn't start that bad.

Sure the Ducks came with more pressure and sure the Stars seemed to lose a step and were playing on their heels a bit more, but it wasn't that bad a period. Brad Richards added a second goal on the night to make it 3-0 after some more nice work by Neal and Loui Eriksson. And hell, if not for a couple of strong plays made by the Ducks defense, Dallas could have added a fourth or fifth goal. Near the end of that period though the Ducks started getting too much of an advantage in terms of puck possession and shots on goal. The Stars young defense - made younger by the playing of Ivan Vishnevskiy tonight - were really starting to struggle in terms of getting the puck out and the rest of the team seemed to go into snooze mode.

A snooze that you thought they should have broken out of the moment Joffrey Lupul got out of the penalty box with no Star keeping him in check and picked up a breakout pass from Ryan Getzlaf and then proceeded to drill Marty Turco into his own net with a five-hole shot that Marty did stop with his pads, but sadly slid in behind the goal line anyway under those pads along with the rest of Turco.

(We can argue all day if Turco was actually 'pushed' into that net by Lupul's stick and I'd buy the argument he was, but at that point Marty was backing up pretty quickly himself so I'm pretty sure his own momentum carried him in, push or no push.)

But still, Stars up 3-1 after two... That's not so bad. The Stars can make adjustments and come out better in the third. Only, they didn't. It got worse. Much worse.

If you were one of those fans that couldn't bother to stay up so late for the game, kudos to you for having the forsight to avoid such a train wreck that was the Stars defending a lead in the third period.

They again played not to lose. (Remember what I said about that last time kids?) Ducks played like they had nothing to lose. The Stars defense couldn't hold on to the puck in their own zone. They refused to hustle for loose pucks instead allowing Anaheim to pick up scraps in exchange for not being the guy that may be out of position. The Stars forwards weren't any better as they either stood high in the zone and hope a puck floated to them or hopelessly chased Ducks around the ice.

Honestly, I've seen dogs chase down their tails better than the Stars did pucks in that third period.

And when the Stars did manage to get the puck once in a while, it was a case of getting the puck past center, dumping it in and then having one forward kinda go after it, but not really with any gusto.

Turco was the only reason the Stars made it to overtime.. And yet somehow with the third Ducks goal, a Dan Sexton wrister from an odd angle a shot that Turco should have easily stopped, Turco was the reason it went into overtime. Not that Turco was to blame for the entire game, in fact anyone who does blame Turco for this loss clearly just didn't watch the game. The simple truth is, when your team is outshot 14-2 in the third period and 21-4 when you put together the third and overtime periods, you don't deserve a win. Turco can not be expected to stand on his head and stop the Ducks shooting gallery from getting anything past him.

(A quick little footnote here: Dan Sexton was awesome in that third period for Anaheim. He at least had the right idea. Fire pucks from every angle possible. Nine shots in a game? Wow!)

The Stars did get a point... Hard to get worked up or feel good about it though. This is a game they shouldn't have lost. Personally. that third period was some of the worst hockey I've seen from the Stars in the last twenty years of me being a dedicated follower of this franchise.

Unless you're really hoping to find out if a team can keep losing in overtime like the Stars do and still make the playoffs, as a fan this game tonight from about the second period onward should leave you feeling at least a little ill. We can only hope it does the same for the Stars themselves and lights a fire in them.

Defending Big D 3 Stars of the game

1st Star: Dan Sexton (ANA) - Two goals - first two of his NHL career, nine shots... He was all over the place and giving the Stars fits.

2nd Star: Bobby Ryan (ANA) - Had a nice, kinda quiet game... Two assists, six shots, +2... Wasn't flashy but was very solid.

3rd Star: Brad Richards (DAL) - Two goals early and was one of the few that bothered to shoot the puck on goal in the second and third periods.

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.

Alex Auld and Dallas Stars Stun Red Wings 3-1

Brandon Worley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:13:07 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - AP

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The Detroit Red Wings have finally lost a home game in regulation, thanks to a nearly perfect road victory by the Dallas Stars. They outshot the Red Wings, were perfect on the penalty kill and took advantage of their power play opportunities to stun Detroit and get right back on the right track after days of questions surrounding the team's approach and consistency. Alex Auld was tremendous in net, and the Stars defensemen played disciplined hockey in their own zone as they worked to slow down a powerful Red Wings offense.

Obviously a lot of the attention from this game is going to be on the goal that wasn't, but we'll get into that later. In the meantime, be impressed by a great coaching job by Marc Crawford and a complete effort by the team as a whole as they did what many didn't think possible after the ups and downs of the past few weeks: beat a red hot Red Wings team on the road.

Mike Ribeiro put the Stars on the board first, when his pass intended for Ott bounced off the stick of a Red Wings defensemen and past goaltender Jimmy Howard. The power play goal put the Stars up 1-0 and seemingly stunned the Red Wings and the home crowd, who looked a bit lost in the fist 15 minutes of the game.The Stars survived a last-period surge by the Red Wings, and then received a great chance to test their penalty kill unit in the second period. The Stars successfully killed off four power play opportunities for the Red Wings in the middle frame, continuing a trend where that unit has signficantly improved upon the struggles from early in the season.

Matt Niskanen put the Stars up 2-0 with a big shot from the point past a Loui Eriksson screen. Henrik Zetterberg then put the Wings right back into the game and within one goal, when he powered past Brad Richards and to the net before lifting a shot over Auld's shoulder. The Wings seized momentum yet Auld stood tall in net and easily had his best game of the season for the Stars.

Loui Eriksson then put the game away late in the third period when he tapped in a James Neal pass on the power play. The Red Wings outshot the Stars 12-7 in the third period, but Auld and an excellent Stars backcheck fanned any fire Detroit tried to start.

Overall, a great win for the Stars and one they should be proud of. But the big test comes tomorrow night when they try to get that elusive winning streak going.

More breakdown of the game after the jump.

Game Highlights:

As I mentioned above, this was easily Alex Auld's best game as a Dallas Star, but that's also tied into how the players in front of him performed as well. Gone were the defensive breakdowns we've seen along the boards, gone were the uncontrolled rebounds in front of the net and the multiple chances for the opposition to hack away at Auld. The Red Wings did put some heavy pressure on in the third period, but for the Stars to allow 30 shots with a minimum of rebound opportunities is tremendous.
This was certainly the Stars' best coached game of the season. Marc Crawford and his assistants put together the perfect gameplan to play to the Stars' strengths and combat the offensive firepower of the Red Wings. Using a rare 2-2-1 technique (rare for the Stars at least) in the neutral zone in the first period, the Stars never allowed the Wings to get any momentum in transition and the strong backchecking by Stars forwards kept the Wings from establishing any sustained pressure. Some quick counterpunches and a power play goal later and the Stars are well on their way to a solid road victory.
This week we called out Steve Ott, Trevor Daley and Brenden Morrow as players that needed to seriously step up, but it was Loui Eriksson and Tom Wandell that truly sparked the Stars in the win. Eriksson contributed the back breaking goal, but it was his outstanding work on defense that was the difference in the game. Wandell also provided a thorn in the side of the Red Wings, as he consistently provided a strong back check as well as strong play on the penalty kill.
I was interested to see how the Stars would respond to Crawford breaking up the lines from what they've typically been the past two seasons or so, but the Stars showed a balanced team tonight both offensively and defensively. Brenden Morrow and Mike Modano worked great together, and Mike Ribeiro looked close to his old self playing with Lehtinen and Steve Ott. Brad Richards was his usual self with two more assists, and James Neal quietly had two assists as well (although his pass to Eriksson on the power play goal was a beauty.) And Mike Modano is on fire.
Finally, we come to the goal that wasn't. I can honestly tell you that the goal should have counted, even though it was against the Stars. The Puck was clearly over the goal line and was over instantly; there was no rolling over the pads on this one. The refs said that the goal didn't count because the the whistle had blown the play dead, which doesn't make sense on two levels. First, the puck crossed the goalline INSTANTLY; Auld barely had time to react to the shot. Second, the replay clearly shows that the whistle didn't blow until about three seconds after the puck went over the line. So if the refs lose sight of the puck that's fine; but that is what the guys in Toronto are for, supposedly.

Here's the video:

DBD's Three Stars of the Game:

Alex Auld, Dallas: Stopped 30 of 31, including several incredible saves in tight against some great players in Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

Brad Richards, Dallas: Two assists in a relatively quiet game, but it's uncanny how he easily springs teammates for prime chances with a subtle pass.

Jimmy Howard, Detroit: Like Auld, Howard made some tremendous saves and kept his team close when the Stars put the pressure on.

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.

Stargazing: Stars Look to Regain Form against Stiff Competition

Brad G — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Bill Boyce - AP

Dallas needs more of this. Three times a game, not two.

Browse more photos »

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

The upcoming trio of games is starting to look more daunting with each day the Stars have off following their loss to the Coyotes in Glendale. Pardon my gloomy outlook on the pending contests this week, both home and road, and please consider the following before you pass any judgment my way:

The Red Wings have won six of their last seven games. They've scored nine goals, three goals, and seven goals respectively in their last three outings. They're as well rested as the Stars are with three days off, but without the travel, and Henrik Zetterberg is the NHL's top "Star of the Week." Then take the Columbus Blue Jackets, winners of four of their last five games who will be waiting in Dallas for the Stars to return whilst they battle the Wings on Wednesday. If two Western Conference teams rolling along quite nicely isn't enough trouble, there's always the New Jersey Devils who come to the American Airlines Center on Saturday night. Apparently they're the NHL's best road team.

So there we have it. A trio of troublesome tribulations for Dallas this week, and all while they're trying to figure out how to score more than two goals a game as they've been wont to do lately.

Alas, the players must take things one game at a time, and so to must we, I suppose. This is quite an opportunity for the Stars coming up this week and lest we forget, they took three of four games from the Red Wings last season...

After the jump, Dallas shuffles the lines, The Texas Stars are rolling, and Marty Turco's work load increases...

Mike Heika brings you an update from the road on Monday practice:

Jere Lehtinen (groin) was back on the ice today and will probably be ready to play Wednesday at Detroit.

Fabian Brunnstrom (shoulder) skated a lot, but isn't allowed contact and still is struggling to get a full swing on his shot. Brian Sutherby (groin) didn't skate. Lines were juggled and Marc Crawford had Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow on separate lines for the first time this year.

It's only Monday, and there is a full practice Tuesday in Detroit (plus a morning skate on Wednesday), so we'll see if he sticks with these lines:

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

Marty Turco is playing well, and Marc Crawford is well aware:

"It's tough to build momentum," goalie Marty Turco said after a 3-2 loss to Phoenix on Saturday that followed a huge 3-2 win against San Jose a few nights earlier. "Things seem to happen a lot easier when you get on a roll. You don't feel like you're grinding it out. Some guys can get on a roll and carry a team, but that hasn't been the case so far."

The one player who can help the Stars get on a roll is Turco. The veteran goalie has produced impressive runs in his career and appears to be in the middle of a pretty good stretch. Turco is 5-1-1 in his last seven games with a 2.10 goals against-average and .928 save percentage. So how can the Stars take advantage of that?

"Play him," coach Marc Crawford said. "I mean, that's pretty much what we need to do."

While Crawford and his coaches planned to space out Turco's games in order to make sure he would avoid a slow start and not wear out by the end of the season, they might be ready to adjust.

I might take a little issue with the premise that Turco is "the one" player that can help get the Stars on a roll. Sure, your goaltender is key to any kind of roll on which you might get, but it certainly hasn't been his fault that they can't string together two "good" games. Especially given the well documented GFA the team has in their last five or six games. He can't score goals...though, I think he'd really like to.

Dallasstars.com takes a look at the Stars depth at forward and the musical chairs going on there:

The fact that Modano, Lehtinen and Ott served as the third line for a few games, and with solid, dependable players such as Brian Sutherby, Fabian Brunnstrom, Toby Petersen and Krys Barch on the bubble battling for spots in the lineup any given night, depending on the injury list, is further evidence of the Stars’ impressive depth.

"For sure, it’s healthy competition," said Sutherby, who was scheduled to be a healthy scratch Thursday until Lehtinen’s tweaked groin forced him to sit out the last two games. "It’s been like that for my entire career, being anywhere from 8-12th forward, or 13th, it’s always something that’s a motivating factor to try and stay in the lineup and sometimes that’s the way it goes. You’re in, you’re out. I don’t think anyone deserves to be out of the lineup right now. That’s sort of tough, but you just got to roll with it."

Barch, who missed three games with a back problem last week, bluntly refuted the notion that having extra competition amongst themselves for those last roster slots further motivates them to dig in harder.

The Texas Stars are now the AHL's best team....

SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Stars defeated the San Antonio Rampage 2-0 on Sunday at the AT&T Center.

Stars goalie Brent Krahn (8-1-0-0) stopped a season-high 44 shots for his second consecutive shutout and his eighth straight win. Warren Peters scored with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the second period and Sergei Korostin added an empty-net goal as Texas remained unbeaten in regulation in the last 11 games (8-0-2-1). Texas leads the AHL with 28 points.

The Stars (12-2-2-2) will travel to Rockford, Ill., for a game Wednesday against the Ice Hogs.

Andrew's Stars Page notes that Jamie Benn is at least in the running for the NHL's top rookie:

Here are THN’s ranking of the top 10 Calder candidates at this point of the season.

1. D Tyler Myers, Buffalo
2. F Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado
3. D Michael Del Zotto, NY Rangers
4. F John Tavares, NY Islanders
5. F James van Riemsdyk, Philadephia
6. D Davis Drewiske, Los Angeles
7. D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay

8. F Jamie Benn, Dallas

9. G Semyon Varlamov, Washington

10. D Jason Demers, San Jose

The Buffalo News mentions the potential for a move involving Brunnstrom:

If he plays his cards right, Stars rookie GM Joe Nieuwendyk could set up a mini-bidding war for second-year winger Fabian Brunnstrom. Several GMs were poking for the asking price last week during meetings in Toronto.

Brunnstrom, who had 17 goals and 29 points in 55 games as a rookie, appears to be caught up in a numbers crunch. He hasn't been able to crack the top two lines and had just one goal and seven points going into the weekend.

Dallas is stocked with good young forwards with three of its top six scorers 24 or younger (James Neal, Loui Eriksson, Jamie Benn). Brunnstrom, 24, has intriguing size (6-2, 215) and makes only $875,000. The Stars are looking for defensemen, preferably young and cheap.

ESPN thinks you might want to take a look at Mike Modano for your fantasy team, if you are so inclined...

Mike Modano, C, Stars (3.7): No, I'm not getting all nostalgic for no reason. Modano is actually in a very good position to contribute for the Dallas Stars. He has replaced Jamie Benn as the winger for the Mike Ribeiro-Brenden Morrow line. Modano has managed four points in his past two games since winning the assignment and he fired nine shots on goal. He even played the fourth forward on the first power-play unit with Loui Eriksson, James Neal and Brad Richards.

Stargazing: Dallas Defeats San Jose, 3-2 in Shootout

Brad G — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:03:04 -0000

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

Ryan Vesce and Stephane Robidas: Shootout Specialists?

Fluky goals and phantom high sticking calls couldn't top the abnormality of who the coaches sent out there in the shootout last night. Dallas, once kings of the skills competition had lost their first four shootouts of the year, scoring just one time in thirteen attempts. So Marc Crawford decided to mix things up a bit and send little Stephane Robidas out there? Maybe it was because they've been so inept at the shootout this year, and maybe it was because I was still trying to figure out just who the heck Ryan Vesce was, but I saw Robidas and like many Stars fans thought: "Eh, at this point, why not?"

He made Marc Crawford look like a very smart man. Why not, indeed.

I'm burying the lead, of course. Marty Turco was the real hero last night. As much of a confidence builder as this one could be (pending the possibility of a let-down in Phoenix) for the team as a whole, Marty must feel like he can do anything after that performance. It wasn't just his goaltending either. As Razor pointed out on the broadcast, he made almost as many plays with his stick handling as he did with his pads. That was the Marty Turco we know and love, and missed last year.

This was the 5th time already this season that the Stars have trailed after two periods of play and pulled at least a point out of the game. Last season, they managed it only five times all year. Trailing after two is not an ideal situation, but it's nice to know the Stars are seemingly never out of it. Even against the top team in the league.

After the jump, quotes and reaction to last night's big win...

NHL.com brings you all the Robidas you need:

Defenseman Stephane Robidas, who had never taken a shootout attempt, scored in the third round to give Dallas its first shootout win in five tries this season as the Stars rallied for a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

Robidas admitted he was surprised to get the call.

"When you look at all the forwards we have, and all the skills, it was pretty surprising," Robidas said. "I scored in a preseason game last year and once in junior hockey but I wasn't comfortable making a move so I just shot it."

...

"I tried to keep it simple and not think too much," said Robidas, 32, who has 3 goals this season and 33 in his career.

The Mercury News reports on Todd McLellan's state of mind after the loss:

Interestingly, McLellan was philosophical about the way things played out, too.

"You have to build that into a season and into a game," McLellan said, referring to both lost leads and bad bounces. "It’s going to happen at times. We’d prefer that it didn’t, but I’m not overly disappointed with the game."

He talked about his choices for the shootout when someone asked about Ryan Vesce. Without getting into why he chose Vesce, he did say that the coaching staff wrestled with the fact he didn’t get much ice time, especially in the third period, and might be cold, but stuck with Vesce anyway.

On Neal's goal:

The flukey nature of Dallas's first goal seemed to make the shootout defeat a little less painful.

"The guy just took a shot, and I was standing off to the side. It went right off the toe," Demers said. "You couldn't get an unluckier bounce than that."

Pucks get deflected all the time. It's funny that we, as hockey fans, belly ache about the ones that take the more dramatic paths to the net. (And we all do it.) Sure it was a funny bounce, but how many pucks get deflected off a leg and two sticks and find the net only to be called "hard working goals" after?

Coach Crawford liked the way his team responded:

``It builds a lot of belief in the guys about not playing it safe and really getting involved,'' Stars coach Marc Crawford said ``We're trying to push our D to be a bit more dynamic, and tonight, out of necessity, they did it. When you're down 2-0, you've got to take chances and you've got to really force (the opposition) into making plays before they want to. That was our objective, and I think it worked for us tonight, and I'd like to see us do it more regularly.''

Mike Heika recaps the drama:

...Then, in the third period, Trevor Daley kicked out what looked like a sure goal, and the Stars forced a too man men on the ice penalty, and the Stars were suddenly all over Evgeni Nabokov,. Then, just as after a power play expired, James Neal somehow banked a shot in off of Sharks defenseman Jason Demers. It wasn't so much a deflection as a rainbow gift from the hockey gods.

And, then, the Stars started to smell blood. They raced up and down the ice, giving up golden scoring opportunities, but also creating golden scoring opportunities. Marc Crawford juggled all over the place, he started getting Mike Modano out on the ice more and he moved Mike Ribeiro to a wing.

And just as Loui Eriksson and Neal forced a turnover and moved the puck off the wall in transition, Modano jumped up while trailing the play and pounded a shot between Nabokov's pads.

Boom, it was 2-2 (and Modano had his first two points of the season).

Mike Modano was good last night. He hadn't scored since the last time they played the Sharks. Please Mike, don't wait that long again.

I liked what Brandon Bibb touched upon here last night at Defending Big D:

About that ugly 1 for 34 against San Jose's penalty kill dating back to last season. Yeah, might want to get that one sorted out at some point during the season series, Stars.

Not like they weren't getting chances. But like Razor mentioned, when they did get chances on the man advantage, those chances fizzled into nothing without Nabokov having to do much to thwart them.

At the very least, I want the Sharks' best penalty killer to actually be the best penalty killer if the Stars are to not score on the man advantage. That rarely happened last year. Or tonight for that matter.

In particular, that PP following that horrible call on Pavelski was just awful. That needs to change. Check the play by play. They lost the face-off, had a giveaway, and a Robidas blocked a shorthanded shot by Heatley. Those are the only three things recorded during a two minute power play? No shots? No missed shots? Blocked shots? Nothing? In the third period?

And finally, something that probably requires more mention than a blurb at the end here, Fabian Brunnstrom's name was allegedly being tossed around a little bit at the GM meetings... [Morning News]

GMs around the NHL are interested in Stars winger Fabian Brunnstrom. TSN's Darren Dreger says so right here.

Dreger is very plugged in and was up in Toronto at the GM meetings, so I would say he probably has something here. It also seems to make sense that the Stars would listen to what those GMs have to say.

The reason is the Stars have some very talented skilled and scoring wingers, and Brunnstrom right now is at the bottom of the depth list of those players. He was put in a battle for the right wing spot on the Morrow-Ribeiro line in training camp, and lost the job to Jamie Benn. Benn, 20, has done nothing in the young season to show he is slipping or that he needs time in the minors, so it seems pretty clear that he is going to be in the mix in the top six forwards for some time to come. Morrow, James Neal and Loui Eriksson have the other jobs locked up.

Turco's Stonewalling of Sharks Leads to Stars' Rally ; Shootout Win

Brandon Bibb — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:58:17 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

about 1 month ago: San Jose Sharks' Dany Heatley, left, races to the puck in front of Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco (35) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Browse more photos »

It's late, so of course this recap is going to be brief.

But the number 1 star of the night was clearly Marty Turco. He kept the Stars in it having only allowed two second period goals from Dany Heatley and Ryan Clowe. He shined during the third period, particularly with the game on the line after a late Mike Modano slashing penalty put the Stars a man down.

But he saved his best stop of the game for the second round of the shootout. Dan Boyle executed a series of splendid dekes to get Turco out of position. Or so Boyle thought. When he went to backhand the puck and tuck it inside the near post and Turco, the Stars' netminder flopped onto his back and with a last minute desperation move, kept the puck out with his glove hand.

And after Ryan Vesce had made it five consecutive shooters from both teams to not dent the twine, Stephane Robidas finally notched the first shootout win of the season for the Stars with an absolutely sick snapshot over Evgeni Nabokov's left shoulder into the top corner of the net.

Other quick thoughts:

Once again, why doesn't the league use replay to correct mistakes on high sticking penalties? In the second period, they whistled Steve Ott off even though replays never conclusively showed he high sticked. Then in the third, Joe Pavelski was victimized when officials called him for high sticking James Neal, even though it was obvious that the Real Deal was the victim of some friendly fire from the stick blade of Nicklas Grossman.

The Sharks were able to take advantage of that phony call on Ott. But fortunately for the refs, the Stars weren't able to do anything with that late power play off the flat out bogus call on Joe Pavelski.
"Crankshaft" appears to be a very appropriate nickname for San Jose's Douglas Murray.
No doubt James Neal had a very strong game tonight for the Stars. And when he tries to take games by the bull horns like he did tonight, the Stars will be successful more nights than not.

But dare I suggest that if he continues to get chances in the shootout that he find another move since the one he has, while effective at beating goaltenders, keeps ringing the post?
Speaking of Neal, I thought it was somewhat fitting that his goal canceled out the fluky goal that Ryan Clowe scored. And it continued to be fitting when Mike Modano's blast canceled out Dany Heatley's snipe from close range.
Sure, San Jose deserved that 2-0 lead by virtue of their domination of the middle frame. But the first period was evenly played and the Stars dominated much of the third period and deserved to have this contest tied at 2-2 going into OT.
About that ugly 1 for 34 against San Jose's penalty kill dating back to last season. Yeah, might want to get that one sorted out at some point during the season series, Stars.

Not like they weren't getting chances. But like Razor mentioned, when they did get chances on the man advantage, those chances fizzled into nothing without Nabokov having to do much to thwart them.

At the very least, I want the Sharks' best penalty killer to actually be the best penalty killer if the Stars are to not score on the man advantage. That rarely happened last year. Or tonight for that matter.
Remember that point I made to Sevy two weeks ago about how good a job fighting does to bring closure to issues on the ice? Exhibit A from tonight's game certainly has to be Krys Barch's fight with Brad Staubitz.The Sharks' tough guy came in a little too late for the Stars' liking on Tom Wandell.

Barch challenged him to a round of fisticuffs, they settled right then and there. And you didn't hear another word about that hit for the rest of the game.
There's a part of me that actually feels sorry for San Jose. Because no matter what they accomplish during the regular season this year, nobody in the hockey world outside of San Jose will give a damn until about the Sharks until they at least advance to the Western Conference Finals. And for some, that might not even be enough.

Gameday Preview: Dallas Stars @ San Jose Sharks (9:30 CST)

Brad G — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:51:42 -0000

Next Game

Dallas Stars
@ San Jose Sharks

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009, 9:30 PM CST
HP Pavilion

Local TV: FSSW
Radio: KTCK 1310 The Ticket

Opponent's Blog: Fear the Fin

Complete Coverage >

After four days off following a mistake ridden loss in Minnesota, 3-2 to the Wild, the Stars try to get back in the win column tonight against the best the NHL currently has to offer: The San Jose Sharks. Dallas has played well on the road so far this season, recording a 4-2-3 record, but the Sharks boast the NHL's best home mark at 6-0-1. The Stars must play a mistake free game if they're to hand the Sharks their first home-regulation loss of the year. San Jose has won ten of twelve, and enter the game edging Dallas in as many statistical categories as you can think of.

Dallas dropped five of six to the Sharks last year, who took no prisoners in the regular season. The Stars managed one victory in San Jose, a 4-1 win on March 3rd. They nearly pulled points out of the HP Pavillion twice last year, but a Marty Turco give away with only 29 seconds left cost the team at least a point one year ago in November. Mike Modano says seemingly every time they go to San Jose that they enjoy playing there. Let's hope they give the fans a reason to enjoy watching them there, as this one looks to be a challenge of the highest difficulty.

[UPDATE] Jere Lehtinen is out for tonight's game.

After the jump, injuries and more notes on tonight's game...

The Dallas Stars:

The Stars have scored only two goals in four straight games. They are 3-for-19 on the power play in that stretch, two of those coming in the loss to Minnesota. The Stars will look to the return of James Neal to the lineup tonight to get that Neal-Richards-Erikssson trio jump started, but they'll likely attract the majority of the Sharks defensive attention.

What the Stars really need is for the Ribeiro/Morrow combination to return to form. The two have combined for only three points in their last four games, and have endured well documented defensive struggles in the process. The return of Jere Lehtinen helped stifle their growing pile of minuses in recent games, and Marc Crawford will reunite the pair with Jamie Benn for tonight's game, opting to play Jere Lehtinen with Mike Modano and Toby Petersen.

Meanwhile, Brian Sutherby will apparently sit tonight in favor of Krys Barch, who returned from a shoulder injury and will see fourth line minutes with Tom Wandell and Steve Ott. This is surprising to some, as the Sutherby/Wandell/Brunnstrom combination had begun to show a nice chemistry in recent games, but Fabian Brunnstrom's absence (shoulder) may have prompted a change. The presence of Steve Ott and Krys Barch on the same line could make for some interesting results.

UPDATE: Jere Lehtinen is out for tonight's game, apparently. Brian Sutherby will be in. Your guess is as good as mine on what the line's will be.

Marty Turco is in net tonight.

The Sharks:

Let's let Mike Heika's stats do the talking:

As for the Sharks, you'll see a lot of this in scouting the enemy tomorrow, but just so you know, they are the hottest team in hockey with an 8-0-1 run going. They are first in points percentage at .737, first in goal-differential at +1.06, and first in face-off winning percentage at 56.9%. They are second in goals against average (2.22), second in save percentage (.923), second in power play success (25.0%), fourth in goal scoring (3.32) and fourth in penalty kill (85.5%).

So you could say this is a bit of a challenge for the Stars.

I don't know what else to say. The Sharks are just really good (in the regular season) and it will take, as Razor says, a Herculean effort tonight by Dallas to take them down.

After being stripped of the captaincy, and a tumultuous summer, Patrick Marleau is tied for second in scoring in the NHL, and Battle of California is talking about re-signing him. He is enjoying a fantastic year so far with Clowe and Pavelski on his wings. With Setoguchi recently returned to the lineup, paired with Thornton and Heatley, the Sharks are a formidable group up front.

Fear the Fin apparently doesn't care for Dallas much.

Injuries:

Dallas: Fabian Brunnstrom is out with a shoulder injury. Day-to-day.

San Jose: Rob Blake (upper body) and Torey Mitchell (leg) are out tonight.