Lacking Punch

Last Friday the Stars came up big, bouncing back from two straight blown games by defeating the rival Sharks in an eleven round shoot-out (the only team we can beat in the talent portion of the game). How did we follow that up? A shoot-out loss to the Kings. One can argue over Ribiero's goal that could have prolonged the shoot-out, but really back to back wins would be asking too much from this team. The one word that describes this team is inconsistent. The Stars have been unable to post more than a two game winning streak (which they've done a mere two times) and are right where they deserve to be, one point out of the playoffs. (I'm not sure which is more surprising, the Kings leading the Western Conference or the Red Wings holding the number eight seed). This team is on the fence, not really leaning one way or the other. Considering how we play at home, being a lower seed may prove an advantage come post-season, but unless they find some consistency, the season will end April tenth.

Frustration Rising

I'm speechless. As if blowing the Edmonton game wasn't bad enough, they do it yet again, this time to the Ducks. This game started off perfectly. Dallas went up three-love. During the Oilers game I remember saying "Brad Richards needs to shoot more. I know he's great at setting up goals, but he's really turning into a pass first player which is alright, except he possesses such a great shot." Well wouldn't you know, he scored twice tonight. Even Modano got in on the action on a nice two-on-one with Steve Ott. Anaheim looked pitiful; Dallas dominant. Late in the second, a stray Duck fresh from the penalty box streaked out, was fed the puck, and got the opponent on the board. No big deal. However, that deal grew with each shift in the third as the Ducks spent nearly the whole period in our zone, pelting Marty with shot after shot. Honestly, Turco played a solid game, but at some point somethings gotta give. Anaheim rookie Dan Sexton scored twice to force overtime, and for the first time this season I was praying for a shoot-out. I know we're anemic in that skills area, but we'd at least have a chance to win, and anyone watching the game knows we had no shot if it were to be settled before hand. The next game this Friday against the San Jose Sharks will be crucial. I'm not going to call this a must win game, but depending on how we play will be an indicator on how this season will play out. If the Stars roll over, we'll need to get our forks out. If they battle back and play well (not necessarily win), there is hope. Interesting post game interviews with Morrow and Turco. Morrow talked about the team needing to stop sitting on leads and not be afraid to win. Couldn't agree more. Anaheim was on the ropes and the Stars let them in. I'd say a team leader, either Morrow, Modano, Richards, even Turco, will step up and get the team on track.

-Skrastins missed last nights contest due to a cut finger. We recalled a guy from our minor league team, meaning all but one of our D-men were under I believe it was 26.
-This was the first time I've really noticed Stu Barnes behind the bench. I liked that.

Well...

Alright I have two games to catch you up on. First, Dallas beat the Ducks on Thursday, December 3 by a score of 3-1. The Stars were down 1-0 for the first two periods, but then lady luck decided to drop in to give us a flukey goal to tie it. Then the skill came in, and we never looked back.

Now for the real post. Stars lose in the shoot-out (what else is new) 3-2 to the Edmonton Oilers. Sucks I know, but this was my first venture of this campaign to the AAC to see the team live. I purchased one of those mystery pucks signed by a player; this time I ended up with Karlis Skrastins to go with my Barch and Ribiero. Oh and the tickets this time are to a game against Minnesota, should be fun. I was a bit disappointed with the crowd though; I'd say the place was roughly half full and never seemed to build much excitement till the shoot-out. As for the game, Dallas had a great first period, scoring twice by both Benn and Neal. Then they seemed to slow down. The Oilers brought it within one in the second, then tied it in the third. The over-time period was lack-luster, but the shoot-out was alright. Neal finally ended his streak of hitting the post...sadly he didn't hit anything. Morrow hit the post which would have extended the teams chance. Very dissapointing end to the game, but I did like what I saw from Marty Turco. We could have easily lost in regulation by multiple goals, but number 35 kept us in it. I applaud his effort.

Up Next: Five game road trip. Good.

Stuck in Idle

Dallas lost to Detroit 4-1.

As I have this game on in the background of my living room while finishing up loose ends for this semester, I'm hearing some good things. Now Turco is faltering a bit, but the forwards aren't playing too bad. I may just have the mindset of "oh it could be worse" but I'm not flipping the panic switch yet or writing off the season. We play the Ducks tonight, then the Oilers on Saturday (which I will be attending) then head back off on the road, where we tend to play better, which is strange to say as we've lost our last two road games. Tonight's game will bring some changes to the lines; Neal-Modano-Lehtinen and Richards-Eriksson-Ott. Will they work? Perhaps. Neal will inject some youth to the old man line, and he did play well with Modano last season. Ott could be the bad boy that charges the net, opening up new scoring opportunities for Richards who is actually an elite pointsman at this point in the season (fifth in the NHL). If Eriksson can recapture lightning in his bottle and Lehtinen find the board, this switch could work. Time will tell though, since this is such a hard game to predict. This upcoming road trip could launch the Stars back into the thick of the division, as we tour the West coast against our main competition.

-Barch has more fights than the entire rest of the team.
-I still don't like Matthew Barnaby as an analyst. I hadn't seen him in a while, but then he popped back up.