Sharks limp into town
It's time to dust off the old panic button and ship it to the San Jose Sharks, whose slide continued last night with a humiliating 8-0 loss in Phoenix. Coach Ron Wilson thought his team "surrendered" last night. Forward Curtis Brown called it a "pitiful" performance. It will be interesting to see how the Sharks respond tonight.
I thought the Sharks were not prepared for the Stars' response coming off that 4-1 loss in Anaheim. Hopefully, the Stars will be prepared for a strong push from the Sharks after a brutal loss. All this adds another interesting twist to what was already shaping up to be a good New Year's Eve game. It should be fun.
31 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Nashville game
It looks like the panic buttons will be gathering a little dust. That's four wins in five games and five in the last seven.
Right now I think the Stars have a group of players who are playing extremely well and they seem to be leading the way for this time. The guys I think who have been superb and superb on a consistent basis lately are: Marty Turco, Sergei Zubov, Philippe Boucher, Jeff Halpern and Jere Lehtinen. Turco's been a rock in goal. The other four are logging big minutes and playing a lot in all situations.
There have been other players who have been good, like Mike Ribeiro for example, but I think those five players are the pace setters for this team.
Other guys are stepping up on a nightly basis. Last night Antti Miettinen comes up big by scoring two power play goals. Ribeiro came up big in a set up role on the power play. The other night in Denver it was Loui Eriksson and Chris Conner who chipped in with goals.
That's how you make up for all the guys who are out of the lineup right now and that's what helping this team get on a little bit of a roll.
The Stars are now tied with the Sharks, who will be in town Sunday night. The Sharks play Saturday night in Phoenix so they may still be tied or San Jose might be up by one or two points. Either way it should be a good game, especially since it a New Year's Eve tilt.
30 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Odds & Ends
The Predators roll into town tonight. I don't know what to make of them. Sometimes they look very good and sometimes I come away unimpressed after watching them. I do know this: they haven't fared well in two key measuring stick games this season. They were dismantled by both Anaheim and Buffalo. The Ducks beat them 4-0 and the Sabres blew them away 7-2.
Jason Arnott, who was out the first time the Preds came to town, is back in the lineup now. He has 10 goals, 11 assists and a plus-6 rating in 25 games.
Then it is the Sharks on New Year's Eve and the Sharks are in a little slump these days. They lost last night to Phoenix 3-2, which left them 2-4-0 on their six-game homestand. They are now 5-6-0 in their last 11 games. The Sharks play in Phoenix Saturday night, so they'll be at the tail end of three games in four days when they play the Stars.
These are two good teams over the next two games, but even with the Stars' injuries I think it is a good chance to build some momentum heading into that Western Canada road trip.
29 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Colorado game
Well, that was entertaining. One of the more entertaining Stars games of the season and enjoyable one to watch. The outcome made it a lot more palatable. The panic buttons will be getting a break tonight and tomorrow.
Another big game for Jeff Halpern, who has really been coming on strong the last few games. He's been the Stars best forward over the last four games in my opinion. The line with him, Jere Lehtinen and Loui Eriksson was outstanding.
Good games from the kids like Eriksson and Chris Conner. I though Mathias Tjarnqvist was effective in the limited time he was on the ice.
Marty Turco had another one of those games where he just came up with some big saves with the game on the line.
Jose Theodore looked out of sync most of the night. The Stars probably caught a break that Peter Budaj didn't get the start in goal for Colorado.
Overall, a good win for the Stars. Again, folks can take their hands away from the panic button for a day or two.
Up next are home games against the Predators and Sharks, two teams the Stars usually play well against. Even with a depleted lineup, I still think they have a chance to build a little momentum and break out of this long running stretch of .500 hockey. It will be interesting. It would be good being on a good roll when they head off Western Canada. after the first of year.
It looks like two or three months for Brenden Morrow, which should mean he'll be back towards the end of the regular season as long as everything goes well.
28 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Uh oh
The injury to Brenden Morrow is not good. Severed tendons in his wrist after he was stepped on by a skate. Surgery late last night to repair the damage. The Stars say he is out indefinitely. In other words, a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if it is pushing the end of the season before he returns. But we'll just have to wait and see on that.
27 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Chicago game
My daughter got an Easy Button, which she wanted for Christmas. I thought of that because it seems it's panic button time with the Stars almost every other game these days.
Loss to Anaheim: Panic button
Wins over San Jose and Edmonton: Button gets some rest.
Loss to Chicago, which includes no Eric Lindros and Brenden Morrow getting injured and another game where they score one goal: Panic button.
The rollercoaster ride continues. The loss to Chicago just keeps the Stars on that .500 pace the have been on since early November. They are 12-12-0 in their last 24. They are 5-5-0 in their last ten games. 2-2-0 in their last four. 1-1-0 in their last two. It's .500 almost anyway you look at it. A couple of wins here or there doesn't change much, especially when you follow it up with a couple of losses here and there.
Right now this team is living off that 11-2-0 start as far as the standings. But the longer this .500 stretch of hockey continues the less impact the great start has. That's why I've said that this stretch of games heading to the All-Star break is key. These next few games are really big now that the injury bug seems to rearing its ugly head again.
27 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Happy Holidays
Good win last night. It was a solid win and a good way to build off the San Jose win. Things looked gloomy late Wednesday and now they look OK heading into the Christmas break.
Have a good holiday break and I'll back after the Christmas holiday.
24 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
What a difference a day makes
What a difference a day makes. It's quite a rollercoaster ride with the Stars these days. From a bad game in Anaheim to an absolute gem in San Jose. And the San Jose game was a gem. I can't think of too many games in which they have played better against a quality opponent.
I thought that was Jeff Halpern's best game as a Star. He did everything he was supposed to do when they signed him. Be a good defensive center, win some faceoffs and chip in with some offense.
Stephane Robidas had a great game. Niklas Hagman was sort of a tone setting, in your face kind of guy. Marty Turco was solid in net. Jon Klemm had a fine game at forward.
Dave Tippett shook things up a little and it all seemed to work.
That was a good game. A great effort. A huge win.
With one win they sort of changed the complexion of things. All of a sudden they are four points behind the Sharks and they created some distance between those teams below them in the Conference. But that is an indication of how tight things are. Everthing changes with a game or two or three. That's why it's going to be so important for them to build on this effort in San Jose. And that starts Saturday against the Oilers.
Thursday's win is the kind of game you put a check next to and remember as a possible turning point. Maybe it will be and maybe it won't. But it's one to remember.
22 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Crunch time
It's kind of strange to say that the Stars are faced with a pivotal game here just before the Christmas break, but you can look at tonight's game against San Jose that way. It will be interesting to see how they respond after last night's 4-1 loss to the Ducks. I am sure management will be watching.
They need to be a lot better to compete with the Sharks, who showed the other night they can compete with the Ducks. The Stars, on the other hand, were nowhere near the Ducks' level last night.
The Stars had a closed door meeting after last night's game. There was plenty to talk about. They were simply beaten by a better team last night. A team that was better in all areas of the game. A team with more talent that didn't just rely on talent. The Ducks worked hard, worked smart and simply beat the Stars. They didn't blow them out or humiliate them. They just beat them.
That sequence of events where Corey Perry almost scored right off the opening faceoff of the second period and then scored a few seconds later summed up the game for me. The Stars just didn't seemed prepared to play on the level of the best team in the league.
The Stars' offensive woes are nothing new. There's no reason to run through the numbers again. I did that last night and they are still just dismal. Ditto with the Stars record since early November. It's still unimpressive.
The bottom line is this just isn't a very good hockey team right now. Forget the overall record. Look at what they have done over the past six or seven weeks. That's what they are right now. It's not just all injuries. There are a lot of players who just aren't peforming to the level that the Stars needed for his team to compete as a top team. They did early, but that is in the past. October is history. This is December and the Stars are what they are right now.
Tonight's game in San Jose will be one indicator of how this team responds to last night's loss. But one game doesn't signify a turnaround. This team needs some consistency in its play. That's because there's also some tough games ahead. Saturday it is a home game against the Oilers and then road games against Chicago and Colorado. Then it's Nashville and San Jose at home and back on the road for a three-game trip to Western Canada for games against the Canucks, Oilers and Flames.
That's a tough stretch of hockey and the Stars at their current level of play are going to be looking at more .500 hockey or perhaps below.
21 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Modano Update
Mike Modano did not practice today. Dave Tippett said after today's practice that Modano will not be making the trip to Anaheim and San Jose. He said Modano is still day-to-day.
19 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Ducks, Rory Fitpatrick
So much for the Ducks perhaps being a little flat after their five-game road trip. They were a litte sluggish early and fell behind, but dominated the second and third periods last night in beating Calgary 4-1. Calgary was missing three regular defensemen and missed on some power plays in the the first two periods when the calls were going their way.
When the NHL All-Star votes come out this week it appears Rory Fitzpatrick will be No. 2 among defensemen in the Western Conference. The write-in campaign for the Canucks defensemen is on the verge of upsetting the All-Star apple cart. Versus had the latest numbers last night and Fitzpatrick had pulled ahead of Nicklas Lidstrom by about 1,500 votes.
I know a lot of people are going to be ticked off by this. They'll consider this an outrage. Me? It won't be the first time a guy gets voted into a pro sports All-Star game with questionable credentials. It will just be the most egegious.
I find in entertaining in some ways and troublesome in another way.
You have to admit it's funny when Canucks players are wearing "Vote for Rory" t-shirts (supplied by current Canucks and e
tars defenseman Willie Mitchell). Some of his teammates, including Roberto Luongo, have claimed to have cast votes for him.
Go to YouTube and you can find attack ads on Scott Niedermayer and Nicklas Lidstrom that support the Rory cause, which are hilarious.
I think people have different motives for voting for the guy. I could be wrong, but I believe this is the original post or one of the original posts on the matter over at the Hockey's Future Message Boards, where Vote For Rorry Mania all began.
Since we're all going to be voting many, many times...why not start an HFBoards project, and try to get Rory Fitzpatrick into the all-star game under the Western Conference write-in.
Basically the whole idea is that if we vote in the one player who probably deserves it the least, imagine the awesomeness that would come from that.
I'm thinking if all of HFboards unites, we can actually get Rory into the All-Star game. Pass it on, and vote often! |
That's what makes it tough. It is a knock not only on the process, but on Fitzpatrick as well. He's been a good sport about it but even Mitchell, who came up with the t-shirt idea, acknowledges the downside to all this.
"It's not an easy thing for him because it's kind of a jab," Mitchell told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "The reason they did it was to make fun of the process that you could go in and even vote for me 300,000 times if you had the time.
"But he's handled it really well. He's a super guy."
19 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
The official Modano update
Here is the
official Modano update from the official site.
18 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Practice update
Mike Modano practiced today, but he only lasted for about 40 minutes. He left the ice not long after a play in front of the net where it looked like he might have tweaked something. We'll probably have a better idea of his status tomorrow. If he can't practice tomorrow he probably won't be ready for the Ducks game on Wednesday and that reduces the chances he'll be ready for the Sharks on Thursday. Time will tell.
18 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
A big week ahead
If you didn't get a chance to see the Ducks-Sharks game Saturday night you missed a pretty good tilt. It was one of the better games I have seen this season. It had playoff intensity, lots of momentum swings and some good end-to-end action. A Mark Bell fight gave a lift to the Sharks when they were down 2-0. It was a highly entertaining game. Both teams went after each other. Sharks win on a late Joe Thornton goal to hand the Ducks just their fourth regulation loss and pull San Jose to within eight points of the Ducks in the standings.
It will be interesting to see how the Stars stack up against those two teams this week. The Sharks won't have another game until the Stars come to town on Thursday. The Sharks will be rested and perhaps a little high on themselves after beating the Ducks.
The Ducks host the Flames tonight. That will be their first game back home after the lengthy road trip and teams have a tendency to be flat in the first game back after a trip.
I have a sense the desperation level for the Stars will be higher for the Stars than either the Ducks or Sharks. That's just a hunch. The Stars just can't continue the .500 pace. It's not just losing ground to the Ducks and Sharks, but it's also the possibility of teams in the rear view mirror creeping closer.
The Stars rank seventh in the league standings 42 points, but the 20th and 21st teams in the league, which also happen to be the ninth and tenth teams in the West, have 34 points. That's why the points in these next two games and these next 15 games heading up to the All-Star break are what I see as a key stretch for the Stars.
Thirteen of those 15 games come against teams in the playoff hunt right now. Teams that the Stars are chasing or can be seen as legitimately chasing the Stars. That's why I don't read much into one game like Saturday's tilt against the Kings. It may be just another win in their current long run of .500 hockey or it may be the beginning of something else. The closer we get to the All-Star break the better idea we will have of where this team stands.
The Stars are going to have to get their game in order starting this week. It's going to be a more consistent game. There are some positive trends that have been established over the last several games. The power play is has been producing. It's clicking at 23.4 percent over the past eight games. The problem is that the Stars even strength scoring is still lagging. They got two in the Kings game, but you can't read too much into that. They need to do that on a more consistent basis.
Marty Turco's play has been superb and that's another positive. The most impressive aspect of his game has been coming up with big saves at key moments. He's been doing that a lot lately starting with the shootout win over Minnesota. The recent play of Mike Smith is a bit of a concern, but he's young and, as Daryl Reaugh said the other day, it's tough to be consistent when you don't consistently get playing time.
Mike Modano's return, which may come Wednesday, will be a boost. So will Steve Ott's. He could be back at the end of the month. The Stars miss his energy. It's going to be an interesting next month.
18 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Points are points
The Stars needed two points Saturday against the Kings and they got them. It wasn't pretty at times. The Kings took it to them for long stretches in that game. I bet some of the faithful had their fingers close to the panic button when the Kings took the lead in the third period.
But the Stars found a way to win in the end. And that's the kind of mode they are in right now. Their play continues to be spotty and they need to manufacture wins anyway they can. They got a timely power play goal, some timely penalty killing and some timely saves by Marty Turco to get this game to a shootout. Turco comes up big again in the shootout and Mike Ribeiro scores the lone goal in the shootout and you've got two points.
I am not going to read much into Saturday's game one way or another. I'll just wait to see how things play out moving forward. The Stars are kind of an enigma these days. It's still hard to get a read on them.
They were 11-2-0 in the first 13 and are 10-10-0 over the last 20 games. If you break down those last 20 into ten game sets they were 5-5-0 in both of them. At this point you can ask who the Stars are. Are they the team that when 11-2-0 to start the season? Are they the 10-10-0 team we've seen over the last 20 games? Or?are they some where in between. Honestly, I don't know.
The next two games will good tests. As I write this the Ducks and Sharks are tied 2-2 after two.
16 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Rangers game
You can't fault the Stars' effort last night. They were all over the Rangers, outshooting them 45-20. Execution and finish were different matters. The end result was a 5-2 loss. Give a lot of credit to Henrik Lundqvist, who was brilliant and stopped everything he got to see. He was screened on both Dallas goals, which again came from defensemen and again on came on the power play.
It's nice to see the Stars pot a couple of power play goals but it masks a couple of other areas where their offense is failing. This team has three even strength goals in the last six games. Yeah, they are tough to score but you aren't going to win a lot of nights scoring just power play goals alone even if you get two. Yes, they were on the power play a lot last night but this is a trend that goes beyond one game.
The scoring from the forwards has completely dried up. Since Mike Modano went out of the line up four forwards have scored goals. Jere Lehtinen has two and Mike Ribeiro, Jussi Jokinen and Niklas Hagman each have one. All of those have came in the two recent wins over Phoenix.
And I don't think this slump, offensive or basic .500 play should be put on the recent rash of injuries. You can go back all the way to early November as to when the offensive woes started to settle in and the team's record has been so-so as far as wins and losses. Starting with that 2-1 loss in Vancouver on November 6 they are 9-10-0 and are averaging 2.2 goals per game. It's not just a recent slump. It's been going on for several weeks.
Last night's game was a bit like the Columbus game. The Stars score a goal to gain some momentum and less than a minute later they give up a shorthanded goal that ties the game. Momentum is gone. The goaltending was a little spotty. It was a rough night for Mike Smith.
Then throw in that Brenden Morrow boarding penalty late in the third with the Stars up 3-2. That hurt. It then turned out to be a killer when the Rangers scored on the power play to make it a 4-2 game.
So it's now on to Los Angeles for a Saturday afternoon game against the Kings. It will be interesting to see how they play in that one. But the bigger tests will come Wednesday and Thursday when they'll have a couple of measuring stick games against the Ducks and Sharks.
15 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Blue Jackets game
It's easy to look at last night's game against the Blue Jackets and say Marty Turco gave it away by coughing up the puck two times. He did it once when he went out the play the puck and then he did it on the rebound of an Anson Carter shot, both leading to Columbus goals. The second was a huge momentum killer since the Stars had tied the game 40 seconds earlier.
But focusing on just on Turco's gaffes ignores a couple of other disturbing trends with this team: a lack of offensive punch and an inconsistent power play.
Ten times in the last 18 games the Stars have scored one goal or been shutout in a game. The breakdown is they've scored one goal eight times and been shutout twice. That's not exactly a recipe for success. That's a recipe for mediocrity at best and the Stars record during those 18 games reflects that. They are 9-9-0.
The power play? Some big missed opportunities last night. Sure it scored thanks to Philippe Boucher, who is the Stars' top offensive threat these days. But the power play is still a concern. It created opportunities and momentum and all that, but the goal still is to score at a better clip than the Stars have been doing this season.
Speaking of Boucher, he is the one guy, and perhaps the only guy right now, who seems to have reasonable chance of scoring these days when he shoots the puck. I am not sure I feel that way about anyone else on the roster. I think Mike Ribeiro can create stuff on a regular basis, but I wonder who is going to finish it. Sure, Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen have been scoring more recently, but that's not enough to make up for enough for everybody else who isn't chipping in with some offense.
The Stars came into the season with a scoring by committee approach. It worked early on, but the committee is small at any given time these days.
That's not taking anything away from some of the Stars' recent opponents. Columbus played a great defensive game last night. Ken Hitchcock has them playing tight, disciplined hockey. It's great to see the enthusiasm among the Columbus players.
13 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Bob Gainey
There was a touching column by Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette on Bob Gainey's daugher Laura being lost at sea. You can
read it here.
12 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Injury/Practice update
Just a couple of notes from today's practice.
Brenden Morrow, Eric Lindros and Antti Miettinen went through the full practice this morning. All three are expected to play tomorrow.
Mike Modano skated before practice and then stayed out for a little bit of the practice and then left the ice. He is out for tomorrow's game against the Blue Jackets.
11 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Here comes Hitch
Hitch and the Blue Jackets roll into town tomorrow and they are on a roll. They blew out Ottawa 6-2 last night, scoring five power play goals. Columbus has won four straight, outscoring the opposition 18-3. It has the potential to be a good game.
Some of the injured Stars should be back tomorrow. We'll probably know more after today's practice. I'd think at least two, maybe three are coming back for tomorrow.
Not much to say about the Phoenix win other than to roll out the old cliche about them find a way to win, which they did. Excellent game for Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen. Jussi has really been coming on strong lately and that is good to see.
11 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Oilers Game
I thought Stu Barnes' post-game quote summed up perfectly how most people react to the Stars these days.
"If we win 1-0 we're a great defensive team and if we lose 2-0 we can't score. The bottom line is winning or losing," said Barnes.
The bottom line last night is they lost. You can now say they have won three of four or lost four of their last seven. Your choice depending on whether you want to take the optimistic or pessimistic spin on things.
I thought the Stars looked a little low on energy last night. It's understandable. They played their seventh game in 12 days and some guys have been logging big minutes due to the injuries. That's going to take a toll.
I mentioned before that a little adversity might be good for this team and right now the Stars are going through some with all the injuries.
They've called up some young players who are getting valuable experience and these guys have played well. I thought Loui Eriksson was one the Stars' better players last night. Other players have had to take on bigger roles at times. That could help down the road.
Of course when the injured guys get back this team will still have some issues. Offense is one of them. That was an issue at times before the injury bug hit. The erratic power play is part of that problem. It was a major sore point last night. The full two minutes of five-on-three was a prime chance to turn that game around. It didn't.
09 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Odds & Ends
There's not much to say about last night's win. Another solid team effort and another sharp effort by Marty Turco. You could sense the Coyotes' frustration towards the end as it became apparent they were looking at getting shutout a third straight time by the Stars. They didn't have that many great chances last night. It wasn't an exciting game, but the Stars didn't need one of those.
On to the Stephane Robidas extension. I am not surprised he got one. He's been a good player for the Stars and they obviously like him. I thought the price ($1.5 million a year) was a little high, but not that much when you consider that will be his cap cost in 2009-10 as well as 2007-08.
Former Star Joe Nieuwendyk retired yesterday due to back problems. He should be headed to the Hall of Fame some day. He has 564 career goals, won three Stanley Cups and was the Conn Symthe winner in 1999 with the Stars. He had 11 goals and 10 assists in 23 games for the Stars in the 1999 playoffs. He had six game-winners. When Calgary won in 1989 he had 10 goals in 22 games. In his final playoffs he had six goals in nine games for the Maple Leafs. He had 66 goals in 158 playoff games. He was a big game kind of guy.
Great player, great guy. He and Mike Modano gave the Stars a great one-two punch at center back in the day.
Here's the Miami Herald story on his retirement and this one from the Fort Lauderdal Sun-Sentinel.
07 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Tonight
Nothing much new on the injury front.
Mike Modano is a game time decision.
Daley and Sydor are probable.
Morrow, Lindros, Miettinen, and Ott are all out.
06 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Injury update from practice
Here's an update on the injuries from today's practice.
Sydor: Skated today and is probable for Wed.
Daley: Skated today and is probable for Wed.
Modano: Didn't skate. Is doing better than expected. Status will be determined Wed.
Morrow: Skated a little bit today but is doubtful for Wed.
Lindros: Didn't skate and is doubtful for Wed.
Miettinen: Didn't skate and is doubtful for Wed.
Ott: Nothing new. Still looking like a few weeks away.
05 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Sharks Game
I guess my hunch was right to a degree. I liked the Stars chances and they pulled out a win. That was a pretty exciting tilt for a 1-0 game. Marty Turco was brilliant, especially in the third period. I could list a whole bunch of guys who came up big last night, but I won't list them all. Stu Barnes and Patrik Stefan are two guys up front who deserve a mention. Philippe Boucher and Sergei Zubov were excellent on the back end.
My all-time favorite player for today is Joel Lundqvist. I really liked his game last night. He had an impressive debut. Solid game all around.
It's just one game, but that's a confidence builder for the Stars. They beat a very good hockey team despite missing six guys to start the game and then losing Modano pretty early in the game. It doesn't matter that the only scored one goal or managed only 13 shots on goal. What matters is they found a way to win the hockey game.
05 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Here come the Sharks
This should be a good test for the Stars tonight. The Sharks are on a roll and are healthy again. Jonathan Cheechoo is back in the lineup after missing six games. Milan Michalek returned a couple games ago after missing a few. San Jose has won five in a row. In case you haven't noticed, the Sharks now lead the league with a 2.15 goals against average. They have five shutouts this season, including one against the Stars.
It's Evgeni Nabokov's turn in net. He's the weak link on the goaltending front (and I am just kidding here). He's got just a 2.20 goals against average, a .923 save percentage and three shutouts. Vesa Toskala has the better numbers except in the case of shutouts. He only has two.
The Stars? Well they are banged up and not playing well. I thought the escaped with two points on Saturday night. That Martin Skoula trade was looking pretty good, eh? They dodged a bullet on that Mark Parrish shot on the power play. It looked like a goal to me. That would have made it 4-2.
All that being said, I like the Stars chances tonight. Call it a hunch. Maybe San Jose comes in on a roll, looks at the Stars' depleted lineup and gets a little complacent. The Stars, on the other hand, step it up a notch in hopes of pulling two points closer to the Sharks. We'll see.
04 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Stuff
There's a new local news and information web site that just launched here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and I mean just launched. This afternoon Pegasus News went online. It will provide news, but has loads of information on the local music scene, movies, dining and all that kind of stuff. The goal is to custom fit it to where you live and to your interests. You should just check it out. Ii like what I have seen so far.
The reason I mention it is because I will be providing a little bit of Stars content for the site, which will basically consist of game recaps. They just lift them off the site under an agreement I reached with them a couple of weeks ago. They link back to this site. The advantage for me will most likely be increased traffic. One of the reasons for the increased traffic will be the fact that the material I provide for Pegasus will rank high in Google News searches.
Nothing much will change around here other than I'll probably spend more time on the game recaps/notes and they will probably get posted a little bit later than usual, but not much.
01 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
Caps Game
Not much to say on this one. Slow start hurt and those two goals late in the second were killers.
The late rally was nice, but it was another loss. The problems that were present heading into the game continued until the late push. They had just one goal for a good part of the game and the power play wasn't scoring. The PP looked good, but that doesn't get you any credit on the scoreboard.
Talk about injuries is starting to surface. I brought it up before and I'll bring it up again: this team has escaped injury problems over the past few years. The luck on that front may be running out this season. Sure it hurts, but it shouldn't be an excuse. Guys go out and others have to step up.
Other teams have injuries too. Anaheim was down both goaltenders and still won in Calgary. The Sharks were down a couple of top six forwards, they call up Joe Pavelski from the minors and he pops in three goals in four games. all of them San Jose wins. Buffalo has dealt with injuries.
The Stars are going through some adversity. That's something they haven't faced much the past few regular seasons. Maybe this will make them stronger down the road and better equipped to handle it in the playoffs. Time will tell.
Not that I really follow this stuff, but there is news about Mike Modano and Willa Ford this morning.
01 December '06 - - default| - § ¶
