Quite A Bit For One Night

Where to begin. I'll start off with the score: Dallas 3 Chicago 4 after a 5 round shoot-out. Marty Turco got the start yet again in net, and you can't blame this loss on him. If a goalie can stop the first three attempts (in this case the first four) you should be able to get at least one to back him up/win it. This wasn't the case, as the closest we came was James Neal hitting the post yet again. I caught most of this game, only missing a bit for Lost, but no where in it did it feel as if the Stars were really in any sort of control, which speaks volumes for how big this point was to get. The second would be nice, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. I'd like to go ahead and welcome Mike Ribeiro back to the line up; he payed dividends right away, scoring the games' first goal. I'm proud of how the Stars never rolled over, which I was quite worried about after they fell behind 3-2, but they kept chugging along and finally tied it late to get one point in the standings. Turco had their backs, coming up huge save after save including a stellar diving stop on a break away. Sadly, it seems like his days in Dallas are numbered, as midway through the game FSN announced the Stars traded their fourth-round draft pick and defensman Ivan Vishnevskiy for Atlanta's Kari Lehtonen. All around this is a good move for the club, as we probably wouldn't use Vishnevskiy much (he's more about offense which would fit well with the new system but in the long run we need some guys to keep the puck out of our net) and like what was mentioned on the broadcast, anything after I believe it was the third round in the draft is pretty uncertain. (I know there are diamonds in the rough, but hitting on them is extremely hit or miss, especially in hockey. Most people think of it like football...choosing players from the colleges in the US, but keep in mind, hockey is global). I can't see them moving Auld due to what we would get in return (meaning not much) so the only choice is getting rid of Turco. I hope we at least get some good value back, because we will be giving up a solid goaltender. Let's hope Lehtonen can stay healthy since he's had some back issues in the past. Dallas next plays Calgary Thursday night

In other player news, we get Ribeiro back but lose Steve Ott and Mark Fistric. Ott had an emergency appendectomy and Fistric is having knee surgery. Ott should return after the break, and Fistric's return is in question.

Howlin' Good Game

Dallas finally takes down Phoenix 4-0 as Marty Turco continues to be a dominant force between the pipes. Jamie Benn scored twice, James Neal opened up the scoring, and Loui-Loui Ericksson netted a shorthanded goal. It was nice to see the Stars cool off the red hot Coyotes (stopped their 6 game winning streak) and get two points closer to the playoffs. The real test now is leaving the AAC and playing the last games before the Olympic Break on the road, starting tonight in Chicago. Can the resurgence of Turco be enough to close out the break on a high note? We'll find out tonight against a great Blackhawks team. I apologize for the shortness of the post, busy week.

Hitch In The Road

Well shut-outs are pretty easy to recap, so this will be just a slight step above. Stars lose 2-1, but if you take out essentially the last minute it was 1-0. Steve Mason brought his A game, most likely trying to impress interim coach Claude Noel. Marty Turco was back in net (Crawford is sticking with his "riding the hot hand" plan) and, despite the loss, had a great game. The one goal he did allow was due to a pretty bad screen, and the other goal was when he was on the bench with the extra attacker. From a Dallas point of view, the empty netter stung since there were two Stars on Umberger, and despite taking him down, he still scored from on the ground. Brad Richards scored at the very end, but it was too little too late. Is it too much to ask for a road win? We're now 1-10-2 in the last 13 games away from the AAC. We get another shot at Tippett's Coyotes on Saturday, should be interesting to see who's in net.

One last thought...who besides me can't stand the fact that the Capitals have won 12 games in a row, yet we can't get more than back to back wins?

Wild and Crazy

Minnesota's backup goaltender Wade Dubielewicz must be a fan of Lost, because his mind was clearly in 1977 instead of 2010. Dallas wins this contest 4-2 with Marty Turco making a season-high 40 saves in his first start since January 24th. I know I've been hard on Turco this season, going on record as saying Auld should be starting. Don't get me wrong, I love Marty as a person, but (and this goes to any and every athlete) if you're getting paid millions of dollars to play a sport, you better perform pretty darn good. And that is exactly number 35 did in this game. He came up big when his team needed him, and equally important the team helped him out when he needed them. The third and fourth goal for the Stars came within the same minute of the Wild goals. If that isn't responding, I don't know what is. Mike Modano must have found the fountain of youth up in Montreal, since his scoring frenzy continued with another tally. Steve Ott fought Cal Clutterbuck not once, but twice both in the first and second period. (He totally won both rounds) The second altercation was for Clutterbuck's clean but not cool hit on Brad Richards. The Stars are starting to play with some swagger, but that will be put to the test on Thursday on the road against the now Ken Hitchcock-less Columbus Blue Jackets.

Howling Loss

Today's lucky number is 3. And by lucky, I mean unlucky. Stars fail again to grab the big third win in a row, and they missed the mark in their third attempt to topple Dave Tippett's new team. For those keeping score at home, his new soldiers have won 3 times, and we haven't won once. We didn't play horrible...but definitely not worthy of a win. Auld made some big saves that kept the game from getting too out of hand, but our offense hit a dry spell. Based on how up and down the team has been, I really can't picture them finishing higher than 7th in the West. This could easily change considering how cluttered spots 7-14 are (separated by 10 points) I fully expect the Coyotes and Kings to tail off in the second half, so that there could potentially open up two more spots (Dallas would be in) but regardless, being positioned at the bottom of the group isn't in our best interest, considering how poorly we play on the road, which is where most of the games would be played. I guess I'm wrapping this post up since I fell asleep during the middle of it and completely lost my train of thought.

Former Stars:
-Niklas Hagman was traded from Toronto to Calgary.
-Chris Conner landed with the Pittsburgh Penguins and had two goals the other day.

Home Ice Big Advantage

Hip hip, hooray! Stars top the Avalanche 3-2 thanks to Alex Auld and the clearly oiled up Mike Modano (two goals last night, six in the last eight contests). There were some hard hits, but otherwise a fairly clean game penalty wise, with only three called the entire game. The game easily could have had more scoring for the Stars; for instance, Benn swung and missed with a clear shot of the back of the net, but I wont be petty and just appreciate the win. Dallas gets another shot at making it three in a row on Sunday, taking on Tippett's Coyotes for the first time at home. I'd like to think the crowd will give him a warm reception, considering he was forced out and didn't leave on bad terms. If we can win this game, you have to like our chances at making it four straight wins, since our next target is Minnesota on Tuesday. (I only stay that because at home, we dominate the Wild) But let's not count our chickens before they hatch, or however that saying goes. I apologize for the short post, but work is calling.

*I forgot to mention last post, but Tom Wandell will miss the remainder of the season due to knee surgery to repair his torn ACL. I remember when the injury occurred, he hit his knee on the door while skating by the bench. He left that game, but it didn't seem too serious; but it is. This is upsetting, since he was really starting to come on and play physically and make an impression. I pray the team doesn't do anything stupid and forget about him next season. All the best Tom.

Hot At Home

*Dallas lost to Colorado 4-0; you can thank the NFC Championship game for no review on that one. I recorded it and intended to watch it, but while viewing it on a commercial in the football game, I witnessed the third Avalanche goal, which led me to say "Yeah...I'm not watching this." Basically, Colorado iced the puck, the ref is yelling "icing", the puck hits said ref, Colorado get that puck, and scores on what I think was a 3 on 2. This play seemed to summarize how the night went for our team.*

Alright now for the good game. Dallas beats Calgary 4-3 in a shoot-out (1-0). The Stars opened the scoring with Modano rifling a shot past Miikka Kiprusoff, but the Flames netted two on an extended power-play resulting after the Fistric-Nystrom fight. Normally fight balance out, but during the fight, Fistric pulled off Nystrom's helmet, held onto the helmet, and hit Nystrom with his own helmet. Fun for the fans, but the NHL doesn't laugh over things like that. I don't think it was meant to be dirty (it was listed as a "Match Penalty for Attempting to Injure) but regardless, it happened. (My guess is it got stuck on his hand or between his fingers.) Clearly our penalty kill isn't holding up, and a third goal was added in the second, but Auld looked pretty good and Neal pushed the momentum back in our direction with a deflection in the last minute of the second period. Brad Richards completed the comeback with a power-play tally in the third, by hammering a shot off a Calgary player and in. Modano and Richards missed their shots, Auld made three saves, and Eriksson won it. Overall a great game, and Dallas continues their home ice dominance. I was hoping to go to the game tomorrow night, but work calls. Everyone else should go though.