I know it's early.  But six games into the season (4 on the road) the Dallas Stars are showing they have the offensive talent and goaltending to easily make the playoffs this year.  I have seen too many games on NHL Center Ice according to my wife.  And comparing the talent around the league, the Stars are close to the top on offense and goaltending.  Barring any major injuries, the blue line need only play average for this team to stay near the top of the Western Conference.  And early season observations are showing a steadily improving Niskanen (never thought I would admit that), a steady Robidas, and a vastly improving Grossman.  So there is a good chance our blue line will play well enough to allow our offensive firepower and incredible goaltending to keep us on the right track. 

I kinda chuckled at the pre-season predictions by the experts on this site.  No offense guys.  I love your writing and dedication to us Stars fans.  But I was rather surprised that only one of you gave the Stars a better than average chance of making the playoffs (Art was it?).  This team was stacked with young offensive talent (Neal, Louis, Robidas, Richards, and Benn) - not to mention Morrow and Ott as excellent supporting players on offense.  The team added a very talented netminder. And while they had an admittedly struggling blue line, the young talent would only get better this year.  So I wondered, how can these guys be so reluctant to pick them as likely playoff bound?  Maybe its the nature of the new blog-o-sphere.  You can't be considered a "legitimate journalist" unless you are the eternal fatalist - always nitpicking at this bad stat or the other and missing the forest for the trees. Or maybe it was the fear of being considered a cheerleader? Or just the fear of raising the expectations only to be let down?

Oh I know. I can already hear the same negative nellies responding to this by saying "It's a long season and it's only 6 games."  And you're right.  But if the Stars had started 1-5, I guarantee the same people would already be writing the Stars obituary for this season and blaming the lack of the sale of the team for their demise.  I submit that 6 games, four of which were on the road against quality opponents, are a good sample to NOW make your prognostications.  And if your opinion is still the same as it was before the season, I'm really sad for you. What a dirty set of lenses you must look through.  Sure, could I be looking through rose colored glasses and drinking too much koolaid?  I admit that is possible. But I don't just watch hockey.  I study it.  And I submit to you that the Stars' top two lines have some of the best chemistry I have seen this season.  And when you add a Jamie Been third line that played as well as they did last night against Florida, oh my.  The sky's the limit for this team.

So, to you experts out there who work hard every day to bring us good articles and interesting factoids to make our morning toast go down easier, be happy you were wrong.  Cheer up.  There will be down times this season.  But when this team is healthy, they can play with anybody.  See ya in the playoffs.  Don't worry....be happy.

Now, some folks may get mad at me for this article but so be it.  First, my background is in the law.  That is what I do for a living (please - no lawyer jokes).  So, I want to judge the Hjalmarsson hit on Pominville as if we were in the courtroom.  Obviously, the video footage and multiple angles from which the hit was filmed is the primary evidence in this case.  I haven't figured out how to inbed the video in this article, but you can find it easily on YouTube. 

One instruction that is given to juries in my personal injury cases is "a bad result does not equal negligence".  In other words, sometimes stuff happens, even when we do everything right.  And just because something bad or even terrible happens to someone, it does not equal negligence or a punishable action. 

However, in the court of public opinion, it seems most want to jump on Hjalmarsson and call what he did dirty.  And a two-game suspension to some is way too light.  But if you watch the video and stop it immediately after the hit, forgetting what the result was, what is wrong with it?  In realtime, Hjalmarsson was skating laterally in the direction of the puck and Pominville was standing along the boards virtually parallel to Hjalmarsson (these spellings of hockey names are quite the challenge). Granted, the puck techinically had not arrived on Pominville's stick when the hit happened.  But that is only clearly apparent in slow motion.  In real time, it's a "bang-bang" play as they call it in baseball.  And I don't agree with most commentators who say Pominville's back was to Hjalmarsson.  If you look closely, just before the hit, they are practically facing the same direction, shoulder to shoulder. (Good peripheral vision should have alerted Pominville that a hit was imminent) The force of the hit spins Pominville towards the glass and we know the rest of the story.  But it wasn't a "dirty, rotten hit from behind" as the Buffalo announcer called it on the video.  Pominville was looking down the wall towards the puck.  He was not facing the glass. 

At worst, Hjalmarsson's hit was a boarding or interference penalty (4:00 major).  But it wasn't misconduct and it shouldn't be punishable by suspension. And most importantly, it should not be the catalyst for softening the game.  With the increased speed of the game, bigger players, and extreme competition, these types of injuries are inevitable.  They will never be eliminated.  Just as in the NFL, there will always be concussions and severe neck injuries.  It's the nature of rhe game.  And those who are fortunate enough to be paid millions of dollars to play in the NHL also must realize the assumption of the risk (another legal concept) that is involved in playing a physical, high-speed game. 

Hockey is a physical game and should always be a physical game.  But I'm afraid if fans, commentators, writers, and league officials are allowing themselves to be influenced too much by the aftermath of a crunching hit, they will legislate physicality (is that even a real word?) right out of the game.  And hockey will become nothing more than a track meet and very one-dimentional.

I'm all for making the game safer so long as it doesn't change the very nature of the game.  But when the powers that be begin evaluating the propriety of certain acts on the ice based primarily on the outcome, it will be no time before the game is sissyfied and soft.  And if that happens, you might as well replace the scoreboard with 9 judges from different countries giving 9.7 for technical and 9.8 for style points.

 I feel really bad for Pominville.  It's a horrible, scary injury.  But my sympathy for him cannot cloud my judgment.  And it shouldn't cloud yours.

P.S.  I heard Ryan Miller on the NHL channel on XM radio yesterday whining and bitching about the dirty hit and how the press needs to put more pressure on the NHL to do the right thing....blah, blah, blah.  Admittedly, he is a close friend of Pominville so I have to cut him a little slack here.  BUT, I never liked Ryan Miller anyway and now I REALLy don't like him.  He's always been pouty and uninspiring (granted he's a great goalie).  But now he's shown himself to be a big baby, whining about how dirty the hit was and how these kind of hits need to stop.  Hey Ryan! You're a GOALIE.  It's easy for you to bitch and talk smack because you are protected by the rules.  Grow a pair and stay out of this!  Ok...I'm through venting.  Go Stars tomorrow!!  Will be there live and in person....can't wait!!

Who is in charge of the front page graphics on the Dallas Stars' website?  He/she needs to be fired.  As most of you know, every game day when you visit the Dallas Stars' website, the first page is always a graphic of the key players on each team for the Stars game.  Have you seen today's?  Can you guess what key player this genius decided epitomizes the Dallas Stars?  Brad Richards?....uh no.  Remember, it has to be someone who puts the fear of God in the opponent, right?  Is it Steve Ott then?  It has to be....uh wrong.  Guess again.  Ok, ok....hmmmmmm.  Let's go with an Olympian then. How 'bout Eriksson?......try again.  Neal? Nope.  BENN?.....still cold.  I'm stumped....who is the embodiment of the Dallas Stars spirit, their grit, determination, toughness, and physicality?  You scan the roster....DAMN! How could I have missed him?!  NISKA-FREAKIN'-NEN!! 

Memo to the Dallas Stars graphics department:

Hey Forrest Gump, there's a doctor here asking for his magic shoes back.

Maybe I’m being harsh on him. But was I the only one who thought the 5-hole goal he gave up early against Kane was rediculous?! That’s a goal that a starting goalie in the NHL should not give up. Where’s his stick? Where’s his drop-down reaction? Close up the damn 5-hole!

Secondly, I think Brad is being a little too kind by calling the “bad bounce” goal off the back boards a bad break. Turco too often starts thinking “skater” and “puck handler” too soon and forgets his primary reason for being on the ice is to guard the freakin’ net!! When Hossa (I think) shot that puck into the zone and intentionally wide of the net at the angle he did, it is not surprising the puck came off the boards at that angle on the opposite side. With an offside winger crashing towards the net, Torco’s primary responsiblity is to STAY IN NET. He left his crease WAY to early before he knew where that puck was going. And as a result, he left a gaping hole for any one-armed monkey to punch the puck through.

I’ll give him the amazing save on the breakway play. But that’s one goal. He gave up 2 that should not have been. So he cost us that game. It won’t break my heart when he’s traded before the deadline. And trust me….he will be.