SB Nation - Mike Ribeiro

Game 38 Preview: Jackets limp into Dallas

Mike MacLean — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:05:00 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is a god damned win! The Jackets are in the midst of the worst tail-spin of any NHL squad right now. Remember when they were at or near the top of the Western Conference standings? Now they are battling with Edmonton and Anaheim to stay out of the conference cellar.

Based on the Dispatch's projected lineups, it looks like the roster is is set up like we all predicted it would look like back in the summer. Vermy and Brass are the scoring line pivots, with Juice, Nasher, RJ and Jake as the scoring wings. Chimmer is checking with Sammy and Freddy, which makes a hell of a lot more sense than having Juice on that line. The fourth line will bring energy and physical play, no doubt. I'm pulling for Blunden to score that first goal, and i think if Boller and Raffi can create havoc and the guys can work the forecheck as well as they have of late, it could happen. Mase gets the start. I hope he took Hitch's comment about he and Garon being equal on the depth chart personally and re-affirms himself as the clear-cut number one.

The Stars are a good team- they can score and they bang bodies. The James Neal subplot is an interesting one, it will be fun to see how he is treated by the Jackets. I'm sure that given the chance he and Boller will chuck knuckles tonight. Brad Richards seems to have returned to his former high-scoring self, so he will need to be contained. Their defense is missing some pieces, but are serviceable. I remember watching Fortunus and Vishnevskiy when they were playing in the QMJHL, they are both good players and while they aren't household names yet, they have the potential to forge decent NHL careers, especially Vishnevskiy, a former first round pick. He's a natural Zubov replacement. Turco is in net for Dallas.

Fearless Prediction : A decent effort, the Jackets want to go into the break on a high note, so they can start fresh after Christmas. Mike Blunden gets a point.

Game Time: 8:30pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Defending Big D

Game Page: Blue Jackets vs Stars Coverage

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

It's hard to imagine a more fragile club in the NHL right now than the Blue Jackets. Getting out of the first period without trailing would be huge. The Blue Jackets are 5-1-1 in Dallas the past three seasons. If the Jackets lose tonight and Edmonton wins in Minnesota, they fall to last place in the Western Conference.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kristian Huselius	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
R.J. Umberger	Derick Brassard	Jakub Voracek
Jason Chimera	Samuel Pahlsson	Fredrik Modin
Raffi Torres	Mike Blunden	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Mathieu Roy
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Marc Methot

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Andrew Murray

INJURED: Anton Stralman, Rostislav Klesla, Derek Dorsett

Dallas Stars

James Neal	Brad Richards	Loui Eriksson
Brenden Morrow	Tom Wandell	Jamie Benn
Steve Ott	Mike Ribeiro	Fabian Brunnstrom
Toby Petersen	Mike Modano	Krys Barch

Nicklas Grossman	Stephane Robidas
Karlis Skrastins	Maxime Fortunus
Jeff Woywitka	Ivan Vishnevskiy

Marty Turco

Alex Auld

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.

Marty Turco and Dallas Stars Drop Sharks in Shootout, 3-2

Brandon Worley — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:32:54 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Browse more photos »

Of all the players on the Dallas Stars that have taken the ice this season, none have received the amount of criticism as Matt Niskanen. The young defenseman that had shown so much promise two years ago, and lately he's struggled perhaps more that any other player on the team. Yet tonight, he emerged as the unlikely hero for the Stars in the 11th round of the shootout when he lifted a hard wrist shot over Evgeni Nabokov's glove.

The game started off shaky for the Stars as they attempted to match the Sharks physically and energy wise, and opened up the scoring with a nifty tip-in by Mike Ribeiro late in a power play. Yet the Stars found themselves down 2-1 after the first period as they allowed the Sharks to establish their forecheck, and allowed yet another seemingly soft goal. It was an emotional and penalty-filled first period and for a time it seemed as if the Stars were more focused on agitation and physicality than actual execution.

Yet led by a masterful performance by Brenden Morrow and Steve Ott, the Stars mounted an inspired comeback starting in the second period. Dallas outshot the Sharks 29-18 in the second and third periods and dictated play for a large chuck of time in the second half of the game. With Marc Crawford leaning heavily on his top three lines, the Stars were able to sustain pressure keep the Sharks away from their strength: their offensive firepower. Nabokov was masterful throughout the game, challenging the shooters and rarely allowing a rebound opportunity.

Eventually it was the Stars' aggression around the net that was the difference in this game. This was a theme through the game as the Stars had attempted to create as much havoc in front of Nabokov as possible, and had led to several scrums and a number of penalties for both sides. Midway through the third, as Brad Richards skated the puck out from behind the net, James Neal established position in front of the crease. Scott Nichol and Nabokov was more worried about Neal than the puck, and all three crashed to the ice as Richards' shot found the back of the net. Fittingly, the only way the Stars could score was to basically knock the goaltender out of the way.

Yet it was Marty Turco who stole the show in the final ten minutes of regulation, in overtime and then finally in the shootout. With the Sharks mounting a counterattack with the game tied Marty came up huge for the Stars, making 16 saves with the game on the line, including several tremendous stops on the penalty kill late in the game. He also made the save of the season when he stopped a rebound opportunity by reaching behind his back with his glove to snag a shot out of the air.

The shootout was a combination of incredible goaltending and questionable scoring skills; both teams combined for just three goals in 22 opportunities. Turco used the poke check to perfection while Nabokov was confident and forcing shooters to make moves with the puck. It was frustrating to see the Stars come up empty time and time again, but Turco was tremendous as he gave his team a chance at the win. Eventually, Niskanen was able to score when he snapped a big shot over the goalie's glove.

It was a big win for a Stars team that was reeling from two painful losses in the past week, and they'll get a chance to carry over the strong play tonight against Los Angeles.

Stargazing: Stars Fall to Oilers in Shootout, 3-2

Brad G — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:29:29 -0000

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

"If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got."

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Since November 6th, the Stars have 7 wins. They also have, can you guess? That's right, 7 losses. Win one, lose one, win one, lose one. If they can expect to get "what they've always got" from doing this same thing over and over again, then I suppose 7th or 8th place in the Western Conference standings would be a pretty welcome result. Unfortunately, we all know that's probably not going to cut it. Nor should it. 6-6 CFB teams shouldn't be allowed to go to bowl games and hockey teams that can't win back to back games probably shouldn't be allowed to play playoff hockey.

Dallas now embarks on a huge Pacific road swing that will go a long way toward bolstering their position for the busy months ahead, or putting them in a hole from which they'll attempt a desperate escape. The Kings, the Sharks, the Thrashers...These teams are playing great hockey. They'll see the Ducks again, who will likely want those two fluke goals back, and the Hurricanes, who had an impressive showing against the Canucks yesterday. It's a tough five game swing.

As for the game yesterday, there are a lot of excuses to throw out there. Afternoon games are tough, sure, but both teams had to be up at the same time. For my money, the Stars played 20 minutes of hockey yesterday and got one point for their trouble. That's not a bad exchange rate. The biggest positive I take into the road trip is Marty Turco. He bounced back nicely from a shaky outing at The Joe and looked great against the Ducks and the Oil. Barring a hitherto unforeseen offensive explosion, they'll need him to be strong if they are to have a successful road trip.

After the jump, quotes and reaction from yesterday afternoon's game...

NHL.com brings you Mike Ribeiro:

Dallas is 4-0-2 in its last six games at home, but the Stars bemoaned the loss of an extra point on Saturday.

"It was 2-0 and then 2-1 with 3 minutes left," Ribeiro said. "I think we should have been able to close it out. When you don't have the lead and you come back and tie the game and lose in the shootout, you're like, 'OK, we got the point.' But when you have the lead and then lose in the shootout, it's a little bit harder."

That they were only three minutes away from a win after playing a game that poorly is a positive. Everyone has off-nights, and the Stars gave themselves a chance to win on an off night. They just couldn't seal the deal.

The prayer Ladislav Smid threw at the net late in the third was the one that lost Dallas that extra point:

It was only a matter of time before Ladislav Smid got one.

But who knew it would be almost two full years?

He sure didn't.

"It's been 151 games?" he asked incredulously. "Wow. It's a great feeling, especially since it helped the team to come back and win."

If you're going to break a slump that dates back to April 2007, you might as well make it count, and Smid's tying goal with 3:07 left in regulation yesterday was one of the biggest markers of the season, helping lift Edmonton to 2-0 on this road trip.

Richard Durrett [ESPN] bemoans yet another shootout loss:

Once again, the Stars couldn't win in a shootout. They are now 1-6 in shootouts this season. And Saturday's was particularly disappointing in that they were up 2-0 and blew the lead, falling to Edmonton, 3-2.

Coach Marc Crawford went with Brad Richards, James Neal and Loui Eriksson. Then, when it shifted to sudden death, he put Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow out there.

I can't fault the selections. I might have been tempted to put Ribeiro in that first three, but he has struggled like everyone else lately in shootouts.

The team works on these things in practice. I don't know what else they can do to improve it.

Like it or not, the shootout is part of the game. The shootout will help decide which teams go to the playoffs and which teams stay home. The Stars have now lost 6 points to the shootout, and will likely participate in 6 or 7 more at least. If the Stars miss the playoffs, IF... It's likely they won't miss them by more than 2-7 points or so, one would think, and the shootout will have an angry finger pointed it's way come seasons end.

Mike Heika thinks teams might be focusing on a weakness in the Stars' game...

But, they did not extend the lead in the second or third periods and they seemed to really battle to get things done. Marc Crawford said he thought the team had an especially hard time moving the puck out of the back end, and that was in part because the Oilers sensed problems and really pushed the forecheck hard.

Will other teams follow suit and continue to put extra pressure on this team's young defensemen? And what do you do to rectify that short of making a trade?

Quotes from Dallasstars.com:

Marc Crawford:

"The shootout foiled us again tonight," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "We got in a position to get a win and Brenden’s shot was a good one, hit the post. And they found a way to squeeze it through Marty, Horcoff. We hope (shootouts) will turn into the right thing. This was a game that probably falls more in the category of we shouldn’t have ever let it get to a shootout."

Mike Modano:

"There have been some missed opportunities," acknowledged center Mike Modano. "Then again, there’s some games that we don’t even belong in that we sneak out some points. It all over the course of a year evens itself out. You look back at what you could have got, but then you have to look back at what you had no business getting them out of anyway. But these shootouts have been a little snag in our game the last couple years."

James Neal:

"Maybe it’s in our head a little bit, but we got to bear down in the shootout," said winger James Neal, who scored a goal in the game but shot wide on his shootout attempt. "We put emphasis on it in practice, too. It’s tough, so many points are lost, especially with the amount of shootouts we’ve been in. We don’t want to let those one points slip away from you. Guys got to be confident, you’ve got to go in knowing you’re going to score."

Robidas on the penalty:

Dallas then had to kill off one of the strangest penalties of the season, when Stephane Robidas was called for ‘interference’ for sliding Turco’s goalie stick towards him from the left corner while the Oilers were entering the zone on a rush.

"I don’t know, he said I can’t throw the stick," Robidas said of the referee. "But that’s the thing, I didn’t throw the stick, I just brought it to Marty, but he said no. I couldn’t really argue with him, he’s got the final call."

Judging from the reaction at Copper and Blue, Smid's goal yesterday was the equivalent of Karlis Skrastins or Krys Barch coming up with a big goal late in a game:

It was Ladislav Smid who did it, too, so I was worried at first. "Goddammit," I said, "I'm hallucinating." I immediately drank more coffee, but the distressing visions are still there: that tall drink of water wearing number 5 celebrating like he'd just done the impossible, which I suppose he had. I should have caught on when Ryan Stone picked up a goal or when Jean-Francois Jacques and Patrick O'Sullivan got a two-on-one and didn't completely muff it: the ordinary rules of hockey didn't apply today. Something about playing while the sun was still high had turned us into the Bizzaro Oilers, capable of looking like a proper NHL team for entire shifts at a stretch.

So you know what? Forget what I said a few paragraphs up. Day games for the rest of the season! I want to watch the sunrise and then watch the Oilers! I want to see Dustin Penner slogging to the rink at four in the morning still in his bathrobe! I want the post-game spreads to be bacon and eggs! We might finally be able to grasp a prize worthier than the "Participant" ribbon which has characterized the 2009-10 season.

The "insanity" of trying the same thing over and over again continues on Tuesday night in Anaheim with what we can only assume will be a win. 9:00pm start time. Don't forget the Red Bull.

Beat Down in the Desert; Stars Blown Out, 5-2

Brandon Bibb — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:58:33 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

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I'll keep this short and say for those of you who had Dish Network tonight or had some other commitment that prevented you from watching tonight's game, consider yourself lucky.

Because this one was a complete wreck tonight. No, not like back your car into a hydrant and your neighbor's tree right out of the driveway ugly. At least the Stars waited until the second period to let this one get out of hand.

But tonight's game is still a strong contender with the Columbus game from last week for Worst Game of the Year.

Like Ralph said, this one was a manageable 1-0 lead going into the second. But it became 4-0 by the close of the period primarily thanks to horrible defending that constantly left Marty Turco out to dry and left him faultless in my book.

He was probably faultless to a large degree in Marc Crawford's book as the Stars' coach invoked a mercy pulling and got Turco out of there after the 4th goal.

If there is a player tonight who deserves the lion's share of the blame, it's Matt Niskanen, whose matador defending helped set up Lauri Korpikoski's first career NHL goal to open the flood gates in the second. And for good measure, Nisky was a part of that mess of defenders who allowed Adrian Aucoin to step in from the ladies' tees and make it 4-0 just moments after Korpikoski scored his second of the game to make it 3-0.

Sure, give them some marks for not quitting in the third after Zbynek Michalek's marker made it 5-0. But those goals from Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro will simply go down as garbage time goals that nobody will remember from this game.

The only saving grace is that the game was over so early that the Stars, in theory, didn't use up a lot of their energy reserves and will be fresher come tomorrow night. Which if that's the case...GREAT!!!

Because last I checked, the Coyotes don't have a Vincent Lecavalier or a Steven Stamkos on their roster.

We'll have more tomorrow, of course, from our stable of contributors.

DBD's Three Stars:

1. Lauri Korpikoski (PHX) - Funny name. Serious game. At least from the flying Finn tonight with his first two career goals.

2. Scottie Upshal (PHX)- I know why the Flyers made the trade to get him last spring. Still think it was a mistake to let this talented forward go.

3. Matthew Lombardi (PHX) - Some people carved up a Thanksgiving turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Lombardi celebrated this holiday weekend by carving up the Stars' defense with his passing prowess.

Dallas Stars Shut Down Hurricanes 2-0

Brandon Worley — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:07:42 -0000

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

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It wasn't always pretty, but overall, it was a solid game for the Dallas Stars as they took care of business against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes in shutting them out and ending their five-game point streak. The Stars received power play goals from Jamie Benn and Brad Richards, while Marty Turco was perfect as he recorded his 38th career shutout.

While he only had one assist, there's no doubt that Brenden Morrow was the best player on the ice for the Stars tonight. Seven big hits, three shots, a perfect screen on Richards' goal and a nice fight in the early minutes of the game. He seemed determined not to allow his team to come out flat against another opponent below them in the standings and when the Stars began to let up in the second and early third periods, Morrow was right there again to inject energy and attitude into the game. It infected everyone on the ice and at one point you even saw Mike Ribeiro getting into a scrum as he came to the aid of a teammate.

Before the game Ribeiro talked about how this team needs to play a full 60 minutes, yet they failed to do that tonight and nearly allowed the Hurricanes to get right back into the game. The Stars failed to cash in on several very close chances to go up by two or three goals in the first period.

And early in the second, it appeared those blown chances had come back to bite the Stars when Ray Whitney appeared to have tied the contest at 1-1. But replays showed he had kicked the puck in and video review took a second look and determined the kick was a distinct kicking motion, thus, nullifying the apparent score.

It was also a turning point in the contest as Carolina never really threatened to score until after Richards' third period goal gave the Stars some breathing room. Penalties to Krys Barch and Karlis Skastins gave the Canes an elongated 5-on-3 advantage and a big chance to get back into the game.

But the offensively-challenged outfit from Raleigh were foiled by some big stops by Turco, some big plays by the Stars' penalty killers, and some missed chances. A tickle off the post off a late shot by Whitney was the only thing that threatened to go in and Turco picked up his 37th career shutout.

Some more thoughts from Brandon BIbb after the jump.

First off, I think there was a raison d'tante for the Morrow fight in the opening minute of the contest. This was the fourth opportunity this month for the Stars to put two consecutive wins together and they started slow in the other three. Morrow was intent on not allowing that to happen tonight and it paid off later in the period when Jamie Benn put the Stars up 1-0.
This is the best I've seen the Stars' power play look all year. They moved the puck all over the ice tonight with the man advantage and I'd be remiss if I didn't give a ton of credit to Stephane Robidas. Last year when he was thrust in the role as a top defenseman on this team thanks to injuries, Robi looked like he was pressing a lot on the blue line. This year, he's looked far more comfortable and confident with the puck on the point.
On the flip side, Jeff Woywitka looked like a number 6 defenseman tonight. At one point, it appeared Chad LaRose made him look like a pylon in the second.
The hit Joni Pitkanen put on Stephane Robidas behind the Carolina net in the third period was worse than the hit that got James Neal suspended. Just sayin'.
Now as for the disallowed goal, they got the call right by the letter of the law. Still, in a league that supposedly sells offense as much as the NHL does, I can't really understand why goals that are kicked in should be disallowed. There's no safety threat on kicked pucks because the skate almost always stays on the ice. And it takes skill to directionally kick the puck.
Clearly, Daryl Reaugh is the key to this all-time series. In games in Dallas at least. The Carolina Hurricanes have never won in Dallas since moving down from Hartford. And when they were in Hartford, they only won once in Big D when Brenden Shanahan was playing for them and Razor was doing color on their' television broadcasts. Razor joined Ralph in 1997 and the the rest, as you know, is history.
Wednesday night, the Stars will hold a pre-game ceremony commemorating Brett Hull's induction into The Hockey Hall of Fame. If you're going to the game, the Stars ask that you be in your seats by 6:50 so you don't miss the ceremony.

Habs vs Former Habs at the Quarter Point

Robert L — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:24 -0000

I haven't taken a look at this since the 10 game mark (October 27), but it seems that the former Habs players are now gaining a slight edge on their current counterparts.

At the quarter season point, it is still too soon to draw much of a conclusion, especially considering how unstable the Canadiens' lineup is these days

Most of the players on both sides have kept up their early season pace going, with exceptions being Tanguay, Lang and Koivu, who have picked it up for the former Habs and Marc-Andre Bergeron, who now leads all Canadiens' D in scoring. Tailing off somewhat, are the Bruins' Michael Ryder and Steve Begin.

Most notable among these statistics may just be the save percentages - added to this list for the first time here. I chose to include them for obvious reasons, that being the Canadiens duos numbers as compared to the former netminders now tending goal for stronger clubs.

The Habs much maligned duo of Halak and Price take a beating a little too often, but as it appears here, they could just as well be the team's saving grace.

*Players below are ranking by points and not in comparison.

Jaroslav Halak 8-5-3-0 2.62-9.04 / Jose Theodore 13-5-3-4 3.24-8.83 (Capitals)

Carey Price 13-5-8-0 2.99-9.06 / Cristobal Huet 15-9-4-1 2.25-9.02 (Blackhawks)

Marc-Andre Bergeron 14-3-4-7 / 21-4-7-11 Mark Streit (Islanders)

Roman Hamrlik 20-4-2-6 / 19-0-8-8 Craig Rivet (Sabres)

Jaroslav Spacek 21-1-5-6 / 19-2-5-7 Francois Beauchemin (Maple Leafs)

Paul Mara 21-0-6-6 / 15-2-4-6 Ron Hainsey (Thrashers)

Josh Gorges 11-1-1-2 / 6-0-2-2 Sheldon Souray (Oilers)

Hal Gill 14-1-0-1 / 16-0-0-0 Mike Komisarek (Maple Leafs)

Totals - Defense　

Habs: Total GP: 101 / Goals: 10 /Assists: 18 / Points: 28

Former Habs: Total GP: 96 / Goals: 8 / Assists: 26 / Points: 34

Tomas Plekanec 21-4-15-19 / 20-6-10-16 Mike Ribeiro (Stars)

Mike Cammalleri 21-8-8-16 / 19-3-9-12 Mikhail Grabovski (Maple Leafs)

Brian Gionta 19-8-5-13 / 18-4-8-12 Alex Tanguay (Lightning)

Scott Gomez 21-2-9-11 / 20-5-6-11 Robert Lang (Coyotes)

Glen Metropolit 15-4-6-10 / 18-4-6-10 Alex Kovalev (Senators)

Travis Moen 21-4-3-7 / 20-2-7-9 Steve Begin (Bruins)

Andrei Kostitsyn 21-2-4-6 / 15-2-6-8 Saku Koivu (Ducks)

Maxim Lapierre 21-1-4-5 / 20-4-3-7 Michael Ryder (Bruins)

Max Pacioretty 21-2-2-4 / 20-2-5-7 Sergei Samsonov (Hurricanes)

Guillaume Latendresse 21-2-1-3 / 14-3-2-5 Arron Asham (Flyers)

Georges Laraque 8-0-1-1 / 20-2-3-5 Christopher Higgins (Rangers)

Matt D'Agostini 11-1-0-1 / 20-1-0-1 Tom Kostopoulos (Hurricanes)

Totals - Forwards　

Habs: Total GP: 221 / Goals: 38 /Assists: 58 / Points: 96

Former Habs: Total GP: 224 / Goals: 38 / Assists: 64 / Points: 102

Totals - Team

Habs: Total GP: 322 / Goals: 48 /Assists: 76 / Points: 124

Former Habs: Total GP: 320 / Goals: 46 / Assists: 90 / Points: 136

Incidentally, I'm not much of a video gamer when it comes to such things as NHL 2010 or EA Sports and stuff. (I used to joke that X-Box sounded like a former girlfriend!) A reader of this site has been looking into aligning the teams above against one another for a series of games. That sounded like an interesting offer, and I took him up on it. Once the results come forth, you'll read about it here.

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.

Gameday Preview: Dallas Stars @ Detroit Red Wings (6:30pm CST)

Brad G — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:04:40 -0000

Next Game

Dallas Stars
@ Detroit Red Wings

Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009, 6:30 PM CST
Joe Louis Arena

Local TV: FSN SW

Radio: Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket

Complete Coverage >

Another seemingly long break after a disappointing Saturday night result comes to a close tonight. Much like last week, the Stars find themselves facing a team considered to be one of the very best, that like San Jose, hasn't lost a regulation game in their barn yet this year. Dallas will look to repeat their performance at HP Pavillion last week, pulling two points out of a building where only one other team has been able to so far this season.

Last year, the Stars managed to take three of four from the Red Wings, including a dramatic overtime finish at American Airlines Center in front of a national television audience. Their lone win at Joe Louis Arena last year, a 4-2 victory in January, was Marty Turco's first of his career. He carried an 0-8-2 mark at the Joe entering that game. He had won a game there the year before in the playoffs.

This is a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions as of late. The Wings have a whole heap of injury problems, and yet are winners of six of their last seven and are scoring goals in huge numbers. Dallas, conversely, have been relatively healthy as of late and haven't scored more than two goals in a game since October 30th when they hosted the Florida Panthers.

The Stars will try to reverse the recent fortunes of both teams tonight at 6:30pm CST on Fox Sports Southwest.

After the jump: Lines for tonight's game and a check on injuries.

The Stars:

To be successful at the Joe, winning the special teams battle is a must. In the Stars win in Detroit last year, they scored three power play goals to the Red Wings' one. If there's one area of the Stars game that's been pretty good lately, it's been the penalty kill. The Stars have not surrendered a power play goal in their last four outings, killing their last 13 penalties over that stretch. The power plays is a different story: The Stars have connected on only one of their last eleven opportunities with the man advantage, missing out on several chances in Phoenix to tie the game.

Dallas will hope to get some scoring from someone other than just James Neal, who has scored 8 goals on his last 21 shots. He's scored in seven of the teams last eight games. Mike Ribeiro, meanwhile, has only three assists in his last six games and Marc Crawford had placed Mike Modano on the Ribeiro/Morrow line to jump start their offense. It worked for Modano; not so much for the other two. Brenden Morrow has only one assist in his last six contests.

As a result, the lines were juggled even further this week at practice, as Mike Heika reports:

Lineup against Detroit Wednesday should probably look like this:

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

Grossman-Robidas
Skrastins-Niskanen
Fistric-Daley

Turco

Ott played well with Ribeiro last year, and Jere Lehtinen gives him the center the right handed shot that he likes to look for. All we can do is wait and see.

The Red Wings:

Detroit has won six of it's last seven games by a combined score of 27 to 13. Recently they demolished the Ducks 7-4 on the strength of Hank Zetterberg's career best five point night (3 goals, 2 assists) and a few days before that, went into Columbus and hung NINE on a Ken Hitchcock coached Blue Jacket team. You don't see that every day. You don't see that every season, even. So Marty Turco has his work cut out for him. The Red Wings once again lead the league in shots on goal at 33.9 per game.

What is really impressive about this run Detroit is on, is that they've done it while pretty banged up. Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby have been battling the flu. Jason Williams and Valtteri Filppula are both dealing with broken bones, and Andreas Lilja has missed time with a concussion. Another Wing Marty won't have to deal with in his crease tonight is Johan Franzen. (torn ACL)

The Wings used these lines for the game against the Ducks: [Detroit Free Press]

The lines are:
Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary
Draper-Helm-Eaves
May-Abdelkader-Miller

With Lidstrom-Rafalski, Kronwall-Stuart, Ericsson-Lebda on defense.

Injuries:

Dallas: Fabian Brunnstrom, injured shoulder, has been skating quite a bit but is not ready. Another practice injury, Brian Sutherby (groin) is still working out off-ice. Jere Lehtinen will be back in the lineup tonight.

Detroit: Lilja (concussion); Franzen (ACL); Osgood (Flu); Maltby (Flu); Filppula (Wrist); Williams (fibula)