Good win last night
That was a good win last night in Phoenix. There were some of the same problems, but their were some positives as well. I don't want to read too much into one game against Phoenix, but you have to start somewhere.
Overall, it was just a good effort. They outplayed Phoenix and really dominated the game. It will be interesting to see how they stack up when the Kings come to town on Wednesday. That will be interesting.
The thing I liked the most is that some guys who have been getting little ice time got some last night because Bill Guerin left the game early with back spasms. It's easy to say guys aren't doing anything, but it's hard to do anything if you aren't playing.
Niko Kapanen got some more ice time, played well and got the game-winner. Jaroslav Svoboda got a lot more ice time and was pretty effective as well.
I'm not sure I buy into this theory that you have to play your top two lines a lot, your third line a little and your fourth line is only for when you forget the names of the other nine guys during a game.
I think the Stars have the players to balance out the playing time among the forwards a little more than they have and I think that will pay off in the long run. Of course, there a lot of factors that could throw a wrench into that, such as falling behind all the time and a lot of special teams. But all things being even, I'd like to see some of these guys play a little more.
It was also nice to see the Stars win some faceoffs Saturday night. It's kind of hard to be a puck possession team when you end up on the short end of those draws that determines who gets the puck.
30 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Same old story
There's not much to say about last night's game other than it hasn't changed my perceptions about this team still being an enigma. Right now I think the big problem is there is no one element of the game that this team does particularly well. There is nothing this team can hang its hat and say "Hey, we do these things well."
Everything is average or below average. Everything from offense and defense to goaltending and special teams to faceoffs and their play with the puck. Add it all up and you get where the Stars are right now.
Perhaps going on the road will get them back on track. Maybe that will come by playing a simpler road game. Maybe Johan Hedberg, who is expected to get the start in goal, can give them a lift. Phoenix has been playing some good hockey as of late.
29 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
The San Jose loss
I have to be honest, the last thing I did after last night's game was fret over the Stars' apparent goal being waved off early in overtime. It was a judgment call by the ref, not subject to review and it obscured the bigger issues in this game.
Issues such as this team seems to be getting off to such slow starts and falling behind. Issues such as somebody from the Stars once again in the penalty box late in the third period with the game still on the line. Issues such as the team's inability to put together close to a consistent, solid effort in all areas for an entire game.
I think it is still too early to truly assess the Stars. I'd like to see where they are around Thanksgiving or so. That's about the 20-game mark of the season. But at this point I don't see any identity to this team. No definitive style. Nothing I can put my finger on and say this is how this team wins hockey games. Zip. This team is an enigma right now.
To me these are the issues to worry about, not some call by a referee.
Speaking of the call, Brenden Morrow said after the game that ref Kelly Sutherland said Sharks goalie Nolan Schaeffer had been with interfered with, so the goal was disallowed. My initial impression was the play should have been whistled dead because Schaeffer had the puck covered up long enough.
Just a news tidbit, if you missed. Mathias Tjarnqvist activated from IR and sent to Iowa.
27 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Odds & Ends
I guess we should have seen this coming. The league has fined Toronto coach Pat Quinn and Ducks coach Randy Carlyle for "recent public comments critical of the game and League officiating". No word on the amount of the fines. TSN also reports that there have been warnings issued to others.
I have to give Bill Guerin credit. He got penalized the other night for arguing a call, got benched by Dave Tippett as a result and still doesn't complain. "They are calling what they are supposed to be calling. You know what? Shame on me for not figuring it out," he told BaD Radio yesterday.
Speaking of Guerin, if he were on a eight-game stretch in the middle of the season where he had two goals, three assists, a minus-three rating and the team was 5-3-0, would anyone be analyzing his play? Probably not. But because it's the beginning of the season in the new NHL, his inauspicious start gets some attention.
He hasn't played all that well, but it's only eight games. He's streaky. He pops in two tonight an all of sudden he's on a pace for 35-40 goals again.
TSN's power rankings have the Stars 19th this week, down five spots from their previous ranking. TSN's comment: "A winning record is sullied by allowing four more goals than the Stars have scored, thanks to getting drilled by the Kings Saturday."
26 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Goalies, streaming games
Yesterday I was talking about goaltenders' goals against averages and save percentage not being as important as making big saves at key times. And what happened last night?
Ed Belfour lets up four goals, including a couple of softies and another one where he screwed up and went to play outside the trapezoid, but comes up with incredible saves late in the third, overtime and the shootout. Leafs win 5-4 over Boston and Eddie ends up one of the heroes.
Last night I also checked out Comcast's streaming of NHL games over the internet. They had Carolina and Ottawa available. Tonight it's the Ducks and Kings. It was OK. The quality was acceptable for the 15 to 20 minutes I watched. It was a feed of the Rogers Sportsnet broadcast of the game.
One note: You have to be a Comcast High-Speed Internet customer. If you are, the schedule of games is here: http://www.comcast.net/sports/nhl/hockeylive/schedule/
I don't have a problem watching games on the computer. I've gotten used to it. I watched some World Championship games that way. Ditto the World Cup. I check out the Iowa Stars games via net video broadcasts as well.
25 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Odds & Ends
Good win for the Stars Saturday night against Calgary. They bounced back well from the disaster against the Kings. Marty Turco bounced back especially well. Those saves on Tony Amonte late in the second with the Flames on a five-on-three power play were huge.
I have to agree with those who say in the NHL that the GAA and save percentage aren't as important these days. The key stat may be one that the league doesn't keep -- making the big save when your team needs one in a 4-3 game.
Vojtech Polak and Junior Lessard made their NHL debuts Saturday. Polak looked very good in the eight minutes or so he played. Lessard, who didn't get a long playing time, looked OK while he was out there. He got sent back to Iowa but could be back soon depending on Zubov's injury.
I haven't been overly impressed with the Flames this season, but then last night they rally to beat the Kings 3-2 in Los Angeles. Maybe it's that Jarome Iginla is off to kind of a slow start. Maybe it's losing guys like Craig Conroy and Martin Gelinas. Even when Miikka Kiprusoff is sharp I still think this team could struggle.
The Sharks, who are off to a sluggish start, are in town Wednesday. Evgeni Nabokov is out at least for a week with an upper body injury. That leaves Vesa Toskala as the man for right now.
I wanted to let the great bearcat incident slide into oblivion, but I couldn't pass up bringing it up again due to this press release from PETA.
24 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Too early to panic, but a disturbing loss
Pretty ugly last night, eh? I have to say I was impressed with the Kings. They made the Stars look slow. Los Angeles looks good early. Good talent. Good speed. And that Jason LaBarbera looks solid in net so far.
It's a little early to hit the panic button on the Stars, but last night's game does fall into the disturbing category. Mike Modano called it "a mess." That'd a fair assessment. Time will tell if it is an aberration or if there are some serious issues starting to surface. I could understand the loss in Vancouver Sunday night. Last night's debacle I'm still trying to sort through.
It will be interesting to see how the Stars respond against Calgary, which seems to be slowly getting its act together.
That was a great call on the review of the Luc Robitaille goal last night. When I first saw the replay (not the one from above) I thought it looked a little strange. It didn't look like a shot that hit the post or crossbar and deflected away. But to be honest, I didn't give it much thought until the announcement that it that the play was under review. That angle from above showed perfectly what happened. It didn't help the Stars, but justice was done.
Dish Network has pulled OLN from its service as the latest tactic in the feud over NHL games.
The Washington Post has a good article on the latest developments, which you can read here.
21 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
The bearcat incident
I can't help mentioning the bearcat issue at yesterday's Dallas Stars photo shoot. You can read the Dallas Morning News article here.
I found it funny that the incident was the lead story Channel 5's news at 10 p.m. last night. That's right. The top story of the evening. (I didn't flip to the other channels so I don't what their top stories were)
I was a little surprised it lead Channel 5's news. I saw the promo while watching Law and Order, but never thought it would be the top story.
It's probably because they had video of the bearcat, which was at the Channel 5 studios earlier in the day for a segment on the morning news with meteorologist Rebecca Miller. When my wife saw the promo during her first thought was that was Rebecca got attacked. I said, "No, it got a couple of trainers while. But Mike Modano was in the next room."
Miller, with whom I worked a lot when I was at Channel 5, does a lot of work with the Fort Worth Zoo. I'm not sure she agreed with the great bearcat incident being the lead story on the previous night's news. I base this on her explanation on this morning's news with Brendan Higgins and the great Deborah Ferguson. She referred not to bites, but scratches.
You can view that here.
20 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Morrow comments
I was in the car yesterday afternoon and heard Brenden Morrow on the radio with ESPN's Randy Galloway. Morrow was asked about the new rules and enforcement. He said he like it, but said he wanted to see players have to work for their goals.
I don't have the exact quote, but he said something along the lines that he doesn't want to see lazy, perimeter players score 50 goals.
In other words, he likes players getting freedom to move in the neutral zone but thinks things should get tougher once play moves between the blue line and goal line.
I agree with Morrow and I think you are starting to see things get a little tougher in the offensive/defensive zones. Because the officials are backing off? Not entirely. Some teams and players are adjusting.
They are adjusting by being in better position. And position isn't always just being in the right place at the right time to make a defensive stop. This is still hockey, not chess. Players' options for physically restraining an opponent increase dramatically if they are in what the league defines as proper position.
It's when players lose position and reach that they are likely to get in penalty trouble because there is not much else they can do. It's either skate hard to regain position, take a penalty or watch from behind. You keep two hands on your stick, keep position and your options to be physical multiply.
Ditto with battles in front of the net. No where does it say you just have to let guys skate to the front of your net and set up shop. Some of the options have been taken away like the good old cross check, but defenders still have options to be physical in front of the net.
19 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Odds & Ends
Good road trip for the Stars. I think four out of six points has to be considered a pretty big success. I think it is still way too early to get a read on this team or any other team in the league, but I see a lot more positives than negatives with the Stars so far.
I think the play of some of the younger guys like Trevor Daley, Jussi Jokinen, Antti Miettinen and Trevor Daley have to been seen as positives. So to with the way Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen -- two guys the Stars needed to bounce back -- have performed early in the season. I thought Johan Hedberg looked great in his first start.
The biggest concern is the Stars irritating habit of taking undisciplined penalties.
The most interesting thing about the upcoming home stand is that the Sharks come to town on Wednesday October 26. The other three teams -- Los Angeles, Calgary and Edmonton -- we've already seen.
With the new scheduling format I think I am going to get sick of seeing the same teams so many times and other teams not at all.
Congrats to the Iowa Stars on their first win in franchise history. I watched the game via the internet yesterday afternoon/evening. Junior Lessard had a great yesterday and so did Vojtech Polak. I'll have an update on the Iowa Stars on the main site tonight.
17 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Hull Press Conference
Here's a link to part of Brett Hull's retirement press conference.
It's great stuff.
15 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Hull calling it quits?
I got an email this afternoon from the great Bob Sturm of The Ticket alerting me to his blog, which has some pretty big news about Brett Hull. Sturm, who is in the loop when it comes to Hull stuff, has learned from sources he considers highly trustworthy that Hull will retire tonight. You can read Bob's report here.
15 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Odds & Ends
This should be an interesting road trip for the Stars. I think we'll get a better sense of how the team stacks up after they play the Flames, Oilers and Canucks on the road. Those are three good teams and this should be a good test for the Stars. We'll also get an early read on what kind of road team the Stars might be. It's still early but this could be a revealing trip.
I got an email from Randy Brubaker, who is the online editor for the Des Moines Register. He just wanted to alert me to the paper's expanded coverage of the Iowa Stars. It includes a new hockey section that includes video and a new hockey blog. The links are here:
Des Moines Register Hockey Coverage
Des Moines Register Iowa Stars Blog
I've updated the links section with the new url's.
Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Star-Telegram took a look at OLN, the NHL's new cable partner, in a story today. She decided to check out the programming on OLN leading up to the Stars coverage on Tuesday. The time slots she checked out included these programs.
6:30 a.m.: Babe Winkelman
7:30 a.m.: Sighting In with Shooting USA
10 a.m.: Beretta's Bird Hunter's Journal
1 p.m.: Flyway Highway
3:30 p.m.: GM Vortec Power Hour
The first four are hunting related and the fifth one has something to do with wakeboarding.
Her point? Not sure.
Let's say there was a point. Perhaps it was that those programs have nothing to do with hockey or that the demographics of those shows don't match the demographics of hockey fans.
My thought? So what?
Here's what's on KDFI, which is carrying the Stars' game tonight, at those exact same time slots.
6:30 a.m.: Changing Your World
7:30 a.m.: Trollz : Into the Woodz
10 a.m.: Judge Alex (A woman accuses her upstairs neighbor of intentionally flooding a toilet.)
1 p.m.: Happy Days (They're Closing Inspiration Point Episode)
3:30 p.m.: The Andy Griffith Show (Aunt Bee, the Swinger Episode)
You've got a religious show, a childrens' show, a reality court show and two TV classics. (By the way, don't jump to conclusions on the Aunt Bee episode)
Anyway, I don't care what OLN is running during the day anymore than I care what KDFI is.
The demographics issue? Big deal.
Television is a diverse world these days. Individual networks can have diverse programming. Nothing wrong with that. Look at USA. It has some regular series such as Monk, Kojak, The 4400 and Dead Zone. It runs a lot of Law and Order reruns. It also does sports. It covers golf and tennis. It's big show right now? WWE RAW, which returned to USA last month after being on Spike TV.
Monk does well in the ratings, often placing in Cable's Top Ten when original episodes are running. RAW is a Top Ten cable show. Are the demographics for those two programs the same? I doubt it. Does USA care? I doubt it.
OLN shouldn't care that the NHL may or may not fit its other audience demographics. Neither should the NHL. Under the circumstances at the time it was a good deal for both sides.
Is it perfect? Far from it. OLN needs to expand its subscriber base. But what OLN runs at 6:30 am or 3:30 pm is really meaningless as far as hockey is concerned.
13 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Attendance, OLN
The attendance for last night's Stars game was 16,097. That has to be the lowest since the team has moved into the AAC. I'm thinking you might have to go back to the Reunion Arena days of 1997-98 or 1996-97 to find an attendance number at that level. Capacity at Reunion was 16,924 and 17,001 back in the day I believe.
A lot of people who were counting on seeing the game on OLN last night were disappointed. The game was blacked out for some Dish Network subscribers and others.
Here's what the Stars posted on the team's official message board last night:
The VP of Broadcasting from the NHL was here in Dallas tonight at the game and we asked him why certain areas of Dish Network coverage were not getting the Stars game vs. Phoenix on OLN. He informed us that several pockets of Dish Network around the country require that 40% or more of their subscribers sign up for OLN on a tiered format (a premium customers pay to get certain channels) to air their primary content (in this case - the NHL). If the subscriber base is less than 40% do not have OLN, they get "alternate programming." He told us that "OLN is well aware of the problem and they are in negotiations with Dish Network to clear this up so that 100% of their subscribers will get hockey every time it is on OLN." The league is also trying to help push this through so that all households can get OLN without a problem.
The league faced a similar problem in 1993 when ESPN2 was launched. It took a couple of weeks to sort things out then and get ESPN2 in more and more homes, and the league tells us that OLN will grow very fast and get in many new households at a rapid pace.
The Dallas Stars have expressed our high concern on this matter to the league, OLN and Dish Network. Both OLN and the league have promised us that they will stay on the issue and get it solved ASAP. We will stay on the matter to try and get it solved sooner than later.
This isn't just a Dish Network deal. Cablevision and Adelphia are a couple of the cable operators affected as well. OLN has reached a deal with Adelphia, but I am not sure about Cablevision.
I still subscribe to all the broadcasting and cable news stuff, so I am fairly familiar with the issues involved. Actually did a special news program several years ago on a dispute between a local broadcaster and a cable company that was interesting. The broadcast company went as far as stockpiling antennas just in case they were no longer carried on that cable system. I digress.
It's complicated, tedious stuff. The bottom line is that OLN wants to be on better packages on Dish Network and cable companies. They don't want to be a network that people have to pay more to see, as is the case with Dish, where you have to subscribe to what I believe is called "America's Top 180." OLN wants to be a network that is offered as more of a basic service. They think having the NHL will be a bargaining chip in helping them accomplish that.
It's unfortunate that some fans get screwed short-term, but it is in the best interest of the NHL and OLN that the Comcast-owned network's subscriber base grow. It's 25 million subscribers below the top cable networks. One way for it to grow is to have it placed on more accessible satellite and cable packages. OLN is simply trying to make its network more accessible instead of people having to buy sports packages or some other premium package to see it. More subscribers means better ratings and more advertising revenue. That's just good business.
If Dish and OLN can't reach a deal, then those Dish or cable consumers who want to watch NHL games on OLN and can't have a choice. It's called DirecTV.
12 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Shanahan likes the new NHL
Interesting story in this morning's USA Today on the jump in scoring in the new NHL. It's said to be up 41 percent to 6.4 goals per game according to the article.
Here's how the article, which is written by Kevin Allen, begins:
As much as Brendan Shanahan enjoys playing in the new, offense-enhanced NHL, what pleases him more is how much he now enjoys watching games.
Last Saturday night, when his Detroit Red Wings were idle, Shanahan found himself riding a big wave of enthusiasm as he channel surfed around his Center Ice NHL TV package.
"Typically in past years, I didn't enjoy watching hockey on TV much," Shanahan says. "I was trying to TiVo the Nashville shootout and watch the end of the Toronto game. There were so many lead changes. The speed that was generated in the Toronto game, and the Boston-Pittsburgh game was impressive. Even the St. Louis game was exciting. You can't leave any game early now."
It has been interesting flipping around NHL games so far. There have been some wild ones. Ottawa beating the Leafs 6-5 in a shootout last night for example. The Stars opening night win, of course, is another one.
Speaking of high scoring, pretty ugly opening road trip for the Flames. They go 1-3-0 and give up a total of 20 goals in the three losses. They lost 7-3 last night in Denver.
I don't know what to expect out of tonight's game. Phoenix is kind of banged up in goal with CuJo going out with a groin problem. Mike Ricci is out. Brett Hull will be around, which will keep it interesting.
Tippett's line combinations in practice yesterday were interesting. I guess we'll find out tonight if he actually uses them. He seems intent on trying to spread some legitimate offense over three lines. If Antti Miettinen and Jussi Jokinen can produce then it is an approach that could work.
11 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Arnott and other stuff
Thoughts on the Jason Arnott incident. My first reaction to the melee was this: I figured Bill Guerin and Ian Laperriere would cancel each other out on the penalties and then it would come down to what Jason Arnott and Dan Hinote did. After watching the replay of the hit, I didn't see anything illegal on Hinote's part. It looked like a clean shoulder to shoulder hit to me. No elbow or high stick. At that point I figured the Stars would be shorthanded, but was a little surprised it was for the rest of the game.
Looking back at everything, I think it was a fair call. Just my opinion. I try to look at things objectively and that's how I saw it.
And yes, only one guy can get a fighting major. It's not unheard of in hockey. Referees can use some discretion there. I didn't hear the Stars complaining after the game, especially the coaching staff. That should tell you something right there.
Overall, the Stars had more problems than just the penalty situation late in the game. They got outplayed over the last two periods. Missed shots, turnovers and bad penalties were the Stars big problems.
Marty Turco was one of the few bright spots for Dallas. He did everything he could to help Dallas get at least a point out of this game.
I'll have to admit I was glad to see Pierre Turgeon pick up a couple of points in the game. I hope he does well in Colorado. I've said it before, but I think he was just never used properly during his stay in Dallas. With his skill level, even at this point in his career, I believe he can still be a pretty effective player in the new NHL.
It will be interesting to see if Dave Tippett juggles his lines around. He moved Brenden Morrow up to play with Bill Guerin and Jason Arnott and that trio scored Saturday with a little help from Rob Blake. Perhaps we'll get a better idea on Monday, when the team returns to practice.
It wouldn't bother me much if Tippett juggled a little. Juggling lines is a way of life in the NHL. They are adjusted based on opponents, in-game situations and other reasons. Sometimes effective lines go stale after awhile, they get disbanded and new lines are formed in hopes of jump starting things.
I got the feeling Ralph Strangis didn't agree with the official three stars of the game Saturday as selected by David Sessions of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Sessions picked Marek Svatos, Joe Sakic and Brenden Morrow.
On the post-game show on WBAP Ralph said something along the lines of Sessions is a nice guy, but he is new at this. Ralph then pointed out that Turco had a pretty good game. I think Ralph thought Turco should have been one of the Stars of the game.
09 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Watched Iowa play last night (online) and thought Vojtech Polak had a pretty good game. He did what he did during Dallas' camp and in the pre-season. -- just made stuff happen. Scored a goal too. He's fun to watch on a computer screen, but not as much fun to watch in person.
Marius Holtet and Loui Eriksson had a nice two-on-one break that Holtet finished off by putting it into the net.
I didn't think anybody else really stood out, at least from my perspective. I'll be taking in an Iowa game every now and then to track the guys in Des Moines.
Starting in the next week or two, I probably start doing prospect stats updates. I'll probably do reports on the players in Europe, juniors and college every two weeks. I may do Iowa stats after every game and just have them posted in the Iowa Stars section of the site. I may do a weekly update on what is happening with Iowa along with brief recaps of their games.
Sports Illustrated is having a contest for SportsFan of the Year and, believe it or not, a hockey fan is actually a finalist. Tricia Andrews of Raleigh, North Carolina sent me an e-mail asking for my vote and spreading the word.
I said what the heck. Tricia is a lot like me. She is from north (suburbs of Philly in her case) and moved down south. She, like me, has two loyalties. She roots for the Flyers and Hurricanes, while I like the Stars and Bruins.
If you want to give her a hand and your vote, you can do it here: http://www.si.com/sportsfan
Tricia is in second place, but well behind a Pittsburgh Steelers fan from San Antonio. Also in the running are a Yankees fan from Jersey, a Jacksonville Jaguars from Florida and an Philadelphia Eagles fan from Philly.
07 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Opening night thoughts
While I am watching games I scribble a lot of notes, including possible headlines and tidbits on whom I think might be stars of the game. After the first period of last night's game among my headline notes were items including the words "Meltdown," or "Implosion" or possibly the phrase "Deer in Headlights (Mike Modano's words). The guys at the top of the three stars list were Jeremy Roenick, Lubomir Visnovsky and Mathieu Garon.
My how things changed over the next two periods. That was quite a comeback. If I had been doing a Kings web site, the headlines might have ended up including "Meltdown," "Implosion," or "Collapse."
The Stars ought to be thankful for the power plays they got in the second period. Without them I am not sure they would have gotten back in the game. The Stars kept skating hard and the Kings ended up doing all those things you are not supposed to do in the new NHL. As Modano said in the post-game interview on WBAP, if the refs hadn't stuck to the NHL's strict enforcement game plan there probably wouldn't have been the big rally.
I thought a huge turning point in the game was Pavol Demitra hitting the post on that shorthanded breakaway late in the second. He had Marty Turco beat. If he had nailed that one it could have been a lot different outcome. That could have been a momentum changer. With Demitra not scoring, it kept the Stars one shot from tying the game and that made a huge difference.
I am not going to judge the new NHL on the one game I watched in its entirety on Wednesday night. I have a feeling what he saw at the AAC will probably not be the norm as things move forward. But for the Stars, they couldn't have scripted a more entertaining game from a PR standpoint. It was an exciting, wide-open game that featured a great comeback.
I watched a little bit of the other NHL action last night, but not much. So I don't have much to say about how other games were played. I'll probably watch Iowa tonight along with some NHL games, and then check out other NHL action. Maybe then I'll have a better read about what is going on around the league.
Speaking of Iowa, the Stars minor league affiliate has assigned defenseman Matt Nickerson to Finland. It's an interesting move. Nickerson is still a raw talent who needs a lot of work. He's spent time in Finland before during the off-season, so this won't be totally foreign to him. I think it will give him a chance to work on the hockey aspects of his game. If he is going to ever make it to the NHL he is going to have to make it as a hockey player, not a goon. The temptation to goon it up is still too strong in the North American minors. In Finland he'll have to play hockey and that should help his development.
06 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
Opening Night
Well, opening night is finally here and I am back to blogging. I've been busy with the season preview, the kids being off due to fall break and dealing with erratic internet service. Anyway, things have settled down and it's on to hockey. I'm looking foward to it.
A thought on the Stars roster. I have no problems with the players they decided to have on the opening roster. Doug Armstrong said some of it had to do with money. I think some of it probably had to do with which players would have had to clear waivers going down to Iowa to start the season. I would have liked to have seen a Junior Lessard, Yared Hagos or Vojtech Polak make the team, but those guys will get their chances during the regular season.
A couple of more predictions from around the hockey world. Kevin Allen of USA Today picks the Stars third in the Pacific and seventh in the West. The infamous Eklund has the Stars penciled in at 11th in the West. TSN ranked the Stars tenth in the league in its pre-season rankings.
I think reasonable people can look at the Stars and see different things. Some people see an aging core, while others may see a talented core that could be energized after a year off. Some may seem a team with little depth at forward, while others may see some young talent that can give the Stars a boost. Some may see a suspect defense, while others may see a defense that can thrive in a more open NHL.
All the speculation makes for interesting debate, but we'll start to get answers beginning tonight. It should be fun.
05 October '05 - - default| - § ¶
