The Stars just sent out this release concerning a change in the radio broadcast for the February 5 game against Vancouver:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club’s radio broadcast for their game with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, February 5 will be carried by ESPN Radio (103.3 FM). The one-game switch from the Stars Flagship Radio Station (News/Talk WBAP 820 AM) came due to the numerous presidential primaries that will be held on Super Tuesday. The pre-game show, the game coverage and the post-game show in their entirety will be on ESPN Radio that evening (puck drop is set for 7:30 pm).
It was a pretty good night for the Stars last night as far as their divisional opponents go. San Jose, Anaheim and Phoenix all lost. Yes, keeping an eye on the Coyotes is important right now. They are in the mix. Based on winning percentage they are ninth in the conference, right behind the Ducks. On the negative side for the Stars, Minnesota (beat the Ducks) and Calgary (beat San Jose) are ahead of the Stars based on winning percentage. On the positive side, all these games were decided in regulation, which means only one team got points. That's important.
I like looking at winning percentage because it gives you a snap shot of where a team is right now. At the end of the season you are ranked by how many points you get out of a total of 164 (82 x 2). Winning percentage (actually I would call it points percentage) shows how many points you have collected based on how many available to you so far. It's not based on what may happen in your next game against Edmonton, Nashville, Detroit, Philly or whomever. It shows where you are now. And sometimes looking at just points can be misleading because of games played.
An easier way to look at things is to look at how many games a team is over .500. That gives you a good idea where they stand relative to other teams and a good idea of where you might need to be to make the playoffs.
Right now the points the pace for the final playoff spot in the West is 92 points. I am betting it might take 95 to get in, and that could change. That means the Stars, who are nine games over .500, would need 32 points or be four games over .500 over their final 28 games. Records would be 16-12-0 or 15-11-2 or 14-10-4. To get to 95 points, you'd need to be 13 games over .500 at the end of the season.
I look at the Stars' situation from two perspective as far as the standings. The most important is the division race against San Jose, Anaheim and Phoenix. Winning the division, obviously, is the first goal.
A side note on the Coyotes. Although many of you probably would have loved to have seen the Coyotes knock off Detroit last night, the Red Wings did the Stars a favor. Had the Coyotes won, it would have pushed them to seven games over. 500 and to within five points of the Stars. That's close when you consider they have three games in hand in which to pick up points.
This may pain many of you, but you would be better off rooting for Detroit on a nightly basis, except when they play the Stars. It's OK to root for the Kings against the Red Wings too.
Anyway, if the Stars don't win the division then you have to start worrying about everybody else because that means there are only five spots available for the non-division winners. Right now there a lot of teams in the hunt. Take out the Northwest winner and there will be three teams from that division who will likely be in the mix for a spot. There could be as many as three from the Pacific if Phoenix continues to play well. Then there is the Central, where Columbus, St. Louis and Nashville all have records that put them on a pace to be in the picture. Right now if you take out the division winners, you have nine teams who are still viable contenders for the remaining five spots. This could change. I have a feeling there will be a few teams that will drop out and we may get to a more reasonable number, but you never know.
The three teams I don't worry about right now are the Kings, obviously, the Oilers and Blackhawks. Chicago and Edmonton look OK as far as points, but they are below .500 right now and we are down to the final third of the season. It's still possible, but they would have to go on remarkable runs to make the playoffs.
My thought going into last night's game I wasn't going to read a lot into what happened because it was the first game out of the break and both teams had some issues: The Stars had the quick turnaround and long travel coming of the break; the Canucks had no Roberto Luongo. It was simply two big points in the standings. Marty Turco played an outstanding game, the Stars' special teams were good and the Stars got the points. Those two goals early in the second - the one by Modano and the power play goal by Stephane Robidas - were the difference in the game.
Turco was superb. The Canucks missed Luongo. That's the way it goes. I bet if the Canucks miss the playoffs by a point or two some people will look back at this game and look at two points they may have given possibly given away. You can't blame Curtis Sanford for the first goal, but I don't think he or coach Alain Vigneault were happy with the other two goals. Of course, this is not taking anything away from Turco and the Stars. They played well. But there's a fine a line between winning and losing, and games turn on just a few things. Those two goals early in the second period turned the game and killed the Canucks, who have some issues right now.
Here are a couple of notes for tonight's game. No Jere Lehtinen for the Stars. Some bad news for the Canucks. Defenseman WIlie Mitchell, who has been listed as day-to-day with back issues, is going on IR with a fractured vertebra in his back.
Here are a couple of the local articles on the return of Teemu Selanne to the Anaheim Ducks. He has the potential to make somewhere around $1.8 million this season, but his cap hit will be just under $600,000. As expected Brian Burke used bonus money to beef up the worth of the contract and the targets that trigger the bonus money are almost a lock.
Teemu Selanne couldn't stay out of the spotlight after all.
Selanne put off his retirement for a few months at least as he signed a contract Monday to play the remainder of the season with the Ducks in the hope that he can help the team repeat as Stanley Cup champion.
"It's almost like I didn't miss a day when I stepped on the ice," Selanne joked at a news conference in the Honda Center after his first practice with the team.
The 37-year-old Finnish star signed a one-year, bonus-heavy deal that should pay him more than $1.7 million. Selanne will receive a pro-rated salary of $570,000 and a $1.2-million bonus will kick in if he plays at least 10 regular-season games or if the Ducks advance to the playoffs, both of which appear readily attainable.
It just wasn't something for which Teemu Selanne was ready.
The veteran right wing returned to duty Monday by signing a one-year, prorated contract with the Ducks. He celebrated the moment by stepping onto the Honda Center ice and practicing with his teammates about a hour after signing the deal.
“It's awesome that they gave me a chance to come back this late and I'm very excited,” Selanne said. “Obviously, there are great teammates and great fans here. It's awesome to be part of it again.”
Selanne's deal would have been worth $1.5 million had he started the season at the beginning. Since the Ducks have played 53 games, he'll get $570,000.
There is a bonus clause in the deal that could pay him an additional $1.2 million if he plays in 10 regular-season games or if the Ducks get into the playoffs.
Roberto Luongo will not be in net for the Canucks Tuesday night. Curtis Sanford will get the start for Vancouver. Luongo is in Miami with his pregnant wife and will join the Canucks when they head to Tampa Bay to begin a road trip after the Dallas game.
Jere Lehtinen went through a full practice this afternoon, but it was a short practice. Because of the CBA the Stars couldn't start practice until 2 p.m. today coming out of the break and they had to fly out a couple hours later to Vancouver, so it didn't last long. Everyone was in a rush for the flight.
Lehtinen looked good, and it looks like he should be a player for tomorrow's game but a final determination will be made tomorrow. He's coming off a bout with the flu, so that's a factor in this. He practiced on a line with Mike Modano and Jussi Jokinen.
Sergei Zubov did not practice and will not be on the Western Canada trip. The Stars are listing him as week-to-week right now with the groin injury.
Mike Ribeiro didn't practice today. His flight from Atlanta didn't get in until this afternoon and he didn't make it to Frisco until a little after 3 p.m. He was getting dropped off as I was leaving.
Matt Niskanen was back from Atlanta and did practice.
Here were the lines for the practice. I wouldn't read too much into this these since Ribeiro wasn't out there.
Well, that wasn't a bad All-Star Game. I am not a big fan of them, but that one had some pretty good moments and when all was said and done, I'd have to say it was a pretty entertaining three hours or what ever it was. A nice rally by the West. A Rick Nash hat trick. It was competitive at the end and you get a game-winner for the East by Marc Savard with 20.9 seconds left. I thought Evgeni Nabokov's back-to-back saves on Ilya Kovalchuk late in the second period were memorable moments. There were some other great stops and a few pretty goals. Mike Ribeiro had a few good chances, but didn't factor in the scoring. Overall, not a bad evening of watching hockey on the tube.
I gave in and watched the All-Star skills stuff tonight. It was, well, pretty uneventful. There were a couple of decent moments. I thought Manny Legace was pretty sharp in the YoungStars game, he made some nice stops and was pretty funny talking to the announcers. I thought the Marc Staal goal in the YoungStars game, the one where he roofed it into the top corner was really pretty. Tomas Kaberle hitting eight of nine on the accuracy shooting was a highlight. So was Zdeno Chara topping 103 mph on the hardest shot. Other than that, it was pretty bland. The shootout - with the judging for style points - was lame. It just didn't work. I am still confused how Brian Campbell came out ahead of Duncan Keith in the fastest skater competition in their individual race. There just wasn't a lot of great moments for two-and-a-half hours of my time.
What a lackluster game that was against Buffalo. I think this team is running on empty. They looked flat against the Sabres. This didn't look at all like the team that beat San Jose and Anaheim recently. They looked very good in those contests and then threw out some clunkers against Columbus and Buffalo.
I thought they were lucky to be tied going into the third Thursday night. Not because they were being outplayed to a great degree, but because Buffalo had missed on some good chances and the Stars really weren't creating many. That's just how I saw the game. I thought the Sabres should have been up a couple after the first two periods.
The Stars were in a position to get points out of this game, they didn't and that's the biggest disappointment. I hate to harp on the standings, but it is absurdly tight. The Stars are on a pace for 94 points right now. The 9th, 10th and 11th place teams are all on a pace for 90 points. Four point difference, which is one game against one of those teams. I don't know if it is going to stay that tight. I seriously doubt it, but you never know.
We'll see how they are coming out of the break. They looked physically and emotionally spent on Thursday. The few days off should give them some time to recharge their batteries. They should get Lehtinen back on the road trip and Zubov won't be far behind. That will help. But even with guys coming back, you still have to play and execute. It's a fine line between winning and losing and all the teams are close. It's going to wild down the stretch.
It's a big game tonight for the Stars. They really want to hit the break on a positive note and by putting some more points in the bank. Buffalo is struggling, has just one win in 13 games and will want to do the same. The Sabres aren't winning but they are still an entertaining team to watch. It should be a good tilt.
We'll see where the Stars are as far as the standings afterwards. Ducks play in LA tonight and San Jose hosts St. Louis, which played in Vancouver last night.
Anaheim lost 2-1 to Detroit last night in a pretty good hockey game. It was intense with a definite playoff atmosphere and obviously a measuring stick game for both teams. The Ducks tried to run over the Red Wings early with the rough stuff, including Todd Bertuzzi flattening Dominik Hasek in front of the net. There were a couple of good fights, including Dan Cleary vs. Chris Pronger. Pronger got the better of Cleary, who never returned because his eye was swollen shut.
Red Wings played very well, Scored on a five-on-three to take the early lead. The goal that put them up 2-0 came when Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin's stick broke while passing the puck out of his zone, the Red Wings got a two-on-one break against the stickless Beauchemin and Valtteri Filppula scored. Big push by the Ducks at the end, but the Dominator was sharp and Detroit got two points.
It looks like Jussi Jokinen is ready to go for Thursday's game. He went through a full practice this afternoon in Frisco and unless there is some kind of set back, he should be in against Buffalo.
B.J. Crombeen was sent back to Iowa.
Here's what Dave Tippett rolled out as far as the lines today:
I know there were a couple of calls that were talked about after the game, but the bottom line to me is the Stars lost a 2-0 lead and lost two points last night. They had a chance to build on that lead with some power play chances, but the PP is not producing right now. No Sergei Zubov hurt and so did a very good Columbus penalty kill, but you've got to take advantage of your chances to bury an opponent. They didn't.
They had control of the game and let it and two points get away.
I didn't see the icing that wasn't called, and I am not going to search through my recording of the game to find it. It's not like it was a bang-bang play. Columbus kept the puck in and got a few chances on net before Andrew Murray scored.
The late delay of game call on Mike Modano late is a black and white call. You shoot or bat the puck over the glass from your own zone and you are going to get penalized. I don't like the rule, and have said so here before. In fact, I think I brought it up a few times when it benefited the Stars. I was watching the Canucks the other night and Roberto Luongo made a save, had the rebound pop up in front of his face and he swatted at it to clear it away. It went over the glass and it was a penalty. I didn't think that should be a penalty, but based on the rule book it is. He was just trying to get the puck out from the front of the net, not trying to stop play. I don't think some guy going to shoot the puck off the glass and missing by a few inches should get penalized. It's a dumb rule, but most people don't complain when their team benefits from the call. But if you are going to have the rule, I'd rather have it be black and white, then subjective.
Big game on the docket tonight: Red Wings at Ducks.
Mike Ribeiro is headed to the All-Star Game. Sergei will miss it due to a groin injury. Here's the release from the Stars:
DALLAS STARS CENTER MIKE RIBIERO
ADDED TO 2008 WESTERN CONFERENCE NHL ALL-STAR TEAM
Sergei Zubov is Forced to Miss Game with Groin Injury
FRISCO, Tex. – The National Hockey League announced today that Dallas Stars center Mike Ribiero has been added to the 2008 NHL All-Star Game and that defenseman Sergei Zubov will be forced miss the game due to a groin injury. The game will be played on Sunday, January 27 in Atlanta.
Ribeiro, 27, will be making his first NHL All-Star appearance. In 48 with the Stars this season, he has notched 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points with a +14 rating, averaging 18:36 minutes of ice time per game. Leading Dallas in goals and points, and tying for first in assists and plus/minus, he has already set his career-high for goals in a season. He is on pace to tally 35 goals and 85 points this season.
Last season with the Stars, he tallied 18 goals and 41 assists for 59 points with 22 penalty minutes, averaging 14:56 minutes of ice time per game. He ranked first on the Stars in points and third in assists. His 15 multi-point games last season ranked second on the team behind Sergei Zubov. During the 2007 playoffs, he notched three assists in seven games.
In 2005-06 with Montreal, Ribeiro appeared in 79 games with Montreal, recording 16 goals and 35 assists for 51 points with 36 penalty minutes. Among team leaders, he ranked third in power play goals (8), fourth in assists and fourth in points. He also played in all six playoff games with the Canadiens in 2006, collecting two assists.
The 6-0, 175-pound center registered a solid offensive NHL season with Montreal in 2003-04 when he notched 20 goals and 45 assists for 65 points with a +15 rating in 81 games. During the ’03-04 season, Ribeiro led Montreal in points, assists, was second in game-winning goals (5), tied for second in plus/minus and in power play goals (7), and was third in goals. In 11 post-season outings with Montreal in 2004, he tallied two goals and one assist for three points with 18 penalty minutes.
Montreal’s second round draft selection (45th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Ribeiro has appeared in 405 career NHL games and collected 90 goals and 175 assists for 265 points with 32 power play goals and 130 penalty minutes. The Montreal, Quebec native played in the 2001-02 NHL YoungStars game during the NHL All-Star Weekend, registering four points (1-3-4).
During two seasons (1997 – 1999) in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ribeiro registered 107 goals and 185 assists for 292 points in 136 games. He led the league in ’97-98 in assists (85) and in ’98-99 in goals (67), assists (100) and points (167).
There's not a lot new on Sergei Zubov other than he is not playing tonight or Thursday, and he's got a groin issue. Tracey Myers has some updated information on her blog at the Star-Telegram site. Jussi Jokinen is close. Maybe for Thursday. Maybe not. There might be more on Zubov tonight.
The Blue Jackets are back in town again. They threw out a clunker in Denver Sunday, so their road woes continue. They are a very good team at home and not very good on the road. Still, they are in the middle of things and a win tonight could pull them closer to eighth in the West, which is currently occupied by Vancouver based on both points and winning percentage. If you haven't been following things around the conference lately, the Canucks are struggling a bit these days. They lost last night to Minnesota and are 1-5-1 in their last seven games.
The Ducks don't play tonight, but the Sharks do. They host the Blackhawks. San Jose still holds a slim edge over the Stars in the winning percentage category (.606 to .598), but it is basically a tie in that department. If things go well tonight, the Stars can pass them in that category as well, but the Stars just need to get the two points and that keeps the pressure on San Jose to win those games in hand.
The Stars should have some more information today on Sergei Zubov, who underwent an MRI on Monday. We'll see where he stands. I can't seen him playing in the All-Star Game on Sunday.
Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen should be back after the break. Maybe before the break. We'll see. Both are skating and moving forward. There is light at the end of the tunnel on both and with the break coming I don't see any urgency one way or the other. Just bring them back when they are ready.
You have to give the Stars credit. They've played a lot of hockey recently, have some key guys out and they still had a productive weekend of hockey. Sunday's game was a solid effort. They stole two points Saturday. Sunday they went out and beat the Ducks. Plain and simple.
I thought the checking line of Ott, Halpern and Lundqvist was very good. Ott was at his agitating best. Robidas had an excellent game. The Morrow-Ribeiro-Miettinen line produced a couple of goals. I thought Crombeen was solid again. It was a good effort from the goaltender out.
The Ducks looked flat or maybe the Stars getting the early lead and putting the clamps on defensively sucked a little life out of them. Either way, it was a good win.
The Stars are back on top of the division and the No. 2 seed in the West right now, but as we've seen things can change quickly in a week because of how tight things are right now. That's going to continue. A lot of these teams in the West still have games in had - in some cases as many as three or four - so we'll see how that all plays out later. If the Stars can get two more solid efforts this week, head into the break on a roll and then start getting some of the injured guys back, they should be in pretty good shape heading down the stretch.
P.S. Go Giants. Sorry, it's the native New Yorker in me.
Got a look at Stars prospect Sergei Korostin last night. He's the 2007 third round pick (64th overall) from Russia. He is now playing for the Texas Tornado and made his debut last night in Frisco. He looked OK for a guy who had just traveled from Russia, got in early in the morning and then played in the evening. He's touted as a very good offensive player and you could really see his skill at times. He was considered the second best player coming out of Russia during the 2007 draft and one of the draft services had him as a first round pick. It will be interesting to watch him once he gets his legs under him. I'll probably be taking in more Tornado games than I had planned just to watch Korostin.
On to more immediate matters. Big game this afternoon. The Sharks have tanked here recently (got spanked last night by Detroit 6-3) and the the Stars have a chance to move back into first in the division based on points. The Sharks would still lead based on winning percent, but the margin would be slim. It just goes to show how things are tight and how much a good run or a bad run - even a small one - can move a team up or down quickly in the the standings. The Ducks, who are on a roll here, have a say in all this too. It should be a good game.
On an entertainment level I would give that game about a two, but it was two points and that's the important thing for the Stars. They found a way to win the game. Mike Smith was very good. The Stars made the most of their chances. I thought Columbus played a decent game and had some good chances. I thought they had the better of the play at times, but I would not call it dominating.
I am not surprised at the Stars being a little sluggish. They were coming off a long road trip and teams can be a little flat under those circumstances. I don't think they were bad. They were just a little low in the energy department and a step behind at times. Smith made some big saves, a couple of mistakes by the Blue Jackets that the Stars take advantage of and it adds up to two points. A lot of times that is what a hockey game comes down to. It ain't pretty a lot of times and this one wasn't pretty. But that's OK. This is the kind of game where you are just happy to get the points, especially considering how tight this race is.
B.J. Crombeen had a good NHL debut. He brought a bit of a spark with a couple of hits and a fight. He helped set up Stu Barnes' goal. Good outing for him. He had an impact in his role as a grinder.
We'll see what comes of Sergei Zubov's MRI. My gut tells me we might not see him until after the break, but that's just a guess. We will find out next week.
Ducks tomorrow. The Stars will have to be better and I expect them to be.
"It's not a losing streak," Benny Ercolani, the NHL's longtime chief statistician, said Thursday. "It's a winless streak because some of those games didn't go in the loss column. Once they go into overtime, they get a point and it doesn't go into the loss column. It's nothing new."
So officially, Buffalo's franchise record losing streak of eight, set Jan. 15-Feb. 13, 2003, remains intact.
"That's correct," said Ercolani.
The NHL went to the current standings format when introducing the shootout for the 2005-06 season. Any defeat in overtime or in the shootout goes in the third category called "overtime." So it's win, loss or overtime.
What no longer exists in the NHL is an undefeated streak. Only winning streaks, losing streaks, or winless streaks.
How about the points streak? That's like an undefeated streak lite, I guess.
That was a good win for the Stars and a pretty entertaining game. It was pretty close to a playoff type atmosphere. The points were big and to end the losing streak was big as well. We'll see how they are going forward. There were a lot of positives in this game, but it is just one game. They need to string together a nice run here before the break. It's going to be a tough weekend. Columbus is playing well and Anaheim, well, we saw what they are capable of doing the other day.
Anyway, back to Thursday's game. A lot of momentum shifts in this one. The Craig Rivet hit on Brenden Morrow provided a big shift the Stars' way. I thought that might be a key play, and it was a motivator according to the Stars' players. When the hit first happened my first thought was: "Is that a minor or a major?" I thought it was probably going to be a minor penalty. Still thought so after seeing the replay. Still baffled as to why there was no call, but in the end it really didn't matter.
Despite the Stars' domination in the second, the Sharks turned things around and had things going their way early in the third period. The game was up for grabs going down the stretch, the Sharks cracked and the Stars cashed in to win. This is the kind of game they needed to go their way. It was good to see.
Overall, I thought it was a strong effort by the Stars. There were a lot of players who played well. The Niklas Hagman, Mike Modano, Loui Eriksson trio was very good. I can't say enough about how well Eriksson is playing right now. He looks confident out there, he's getting ice time and he is producing. That is a real positive for this team.
Marty Turco was excellent.
Dave Tippett's decision to dress seven defensemen and let Brad Winchester and B.J. Crombeen sit worked out well. With Trevor Daley spending a lot of time in the box for going after Rivet and Sergei Zubov leavivng after tweaking his foot injury again, having Mark Fistric dressed really helped.
Zubov is day-to-day. I hope he sits out the All-Star Game and gets some rest.
Final thought: The Open Net segment with Razor and the Sharks PR guy was totally gay. Just my opinion. I haven't been that uncomfortable watching TV since Razor and Darren Pang did a segment together a ways back.
Stating the obvious but I'll state it anyway: tonigh's game is a big one. These points are big because all points are big. The game is big because the Stars need to stop the bleeding of this recent slide. The Sharks, despite having dropped two in a row, are playing some good hockey. Didn't see the Phoenix loss, but I did see them play Anaheim the other day and they looked good. They should have probably won, but a bad play and a bad bounce cost them a point.
I like the move to bring up B.J. Crombeen. For this game at this moment, he appears to be a good fit. He brings some size and grit and with the Sharks' size and the fact that the Stars got run over the by the Ducks at times on Tuesday, a guy like Crombeen could help.
I know people look at stats and wonder why the Stars don't bring up a guy with more offensive upside, but it isn't always about just offense and stats. One guy from Iowa isn't going to turn this thing around all by himself. The Stars have a lot of issues these days and a guy like Crombeen is just one little piece of a possible solution to what ails the Stars.
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has recalled right wing B.J. Crombeen from the Iowa Stars, Dallas’ primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Crombeen, 22, will be looking to make his NHL debut tomorrow night in San Jose. He has appeared in 41 games this with Iowa, posting six goals and seven assists for 13 points with a team-high 103 penalty minutes.
Last season, he played the majority of the season with Assat Pori of the Finnish Elite League, appearing in 55 games and notching 22 points (13-9-22) with 152 penalty minutes. The 6-2, 212-pound right wing also played the final 13 regular season games and all 22 playoff contests with Idaho (ECHL), helping lead the Steelheads to the 2007 Kelly Cup championship. In 22 post-season outings, he registered 10 points (5-5-10).
The native of Denver, Colorado, was Dallas’ second-round selection (54th overall) in the 2003 Entry Draft. In four seasons with Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 2001 – 2005, he recorded 86 goals and 84 assists for 170 points and served as captain during the 2004-05 campaign. Named to the OHL All-Star Team that played against the Russian Selects in 2003 and in 2004, Crombeen played for the Eastern Conference in the 2003-04 OHL All-Star Game.
I think that is what you might call a good old fashioned butt kicking Tuesday night in Anaheim. The score (4-2) didn't look bad, but the Ducks were clearly the superior team in just about every area. The second period was brutal. The Stars have been in a real lull here since about New Year's Eve. They had the win over Minnesota at home and the win over the banged up and struggling Blackhawks in Chicago to open this trip, but they have had some rough games over the past couple weeks.
If you look at the standings today the Stars are in fifth place in the West based on points. If you go on winning percentage they are eighth. That's what happens when lose seven of nine and six of those losses are in regulation when you get zero points. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it is going to be a dogfight just to get into the playoffs. There is no guarantee they'll be in. There are too many teams that are too close. That's why points are crucial on every night.
This team just isn't playing well right now and a lot of the things that were going their way a few weeks ago aren't going their way now. It's still that fine line between winning and losing. During that great 16-5-0 run they were hovering on that line a lot of times and found a way to end up on the right side of it. Right now they aren't able to do that. The timely goal isn't there. The timely save isn't there. Last night they didn't get the big penalty kill when they needed it.
Despite almost getting run out of the building Tuesday night in the second period, they were one shot away from tying the game going into the third period and had a power play chance to tie the game. I think at one point Razor said, "That's hockey." It is. Sometimes wins and losses aren't as good or as bad as they seem. It comes down to a few little things, a lucky bounce or something else. Right now the Stars aren't playing well, they aren't getting the little things either and the losses are starting to pile up.
Here's a a couple of quotes from Scott White, Iowa's director of hockey operations, on the Junior Lessard for Dan Jancevski trade. These come from the Des Moines Register:
On Lessard: "Junior, he was a good company man," White said. "A change is sometimes positive in a player's career and I have nothing but good things to say about him and what he's done. The bottom line is you have to give up something to get something back."
On Jancevski: "I think everyone's memory of Danny will be of the type of leader and defenseman he was," said Scott White, Iowa's director of hockey operations. "He adds depth to our big club in Dallas and he makes our group better right away here."
So, the Junior Lessard experiments ends. He hadn't been doing much lately in Iowa and probably needed a change of scenery. Dan Jancevksi, a former Dallas prospect (2nd round pick in 1999), is a familiar face and adds some defensive depth to the organization and a quality minor league defenseman in Iowa. The Stars are thin on defense in Iowa due to injuries and the Stars are somewhat banged up on the blue line in Dallas too. It makes sense in that regard. I always liked Jancevksi. He is a good fit for Iowa.
Big game tonight, and Thursday night too. These are big points in what has shaped up into a very tight division race. The Ducks have crawled back into the picture and can move past the Stars with a regulation win. The Ducks are playing some good hockey these days. This is a different team than the one the Stars were smothering earlier in the season. It will be a good test for both teams to see where they measure up here as the All-Star break approaches.
Matt Niskanen has been named to the Western Conference Young Stars team. Here's the release from the Stars:
The National Hockey League announced today that Dallas Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen has been named to the 2008 Western Conference YoungStars Team.
Comprising the best of the league’s stellar rookie class in 2007-08, the eight-player Eastern and Western Conference YoungStar teams will face off in a new three-on-three event as part of the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills competition on Saturday, January 26 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta (6 pm CST, VERSUS). The YoungStars will be shooting against goaltenders named to participate in the NHL All-Star Game the following day.
Niskanen, 21, has appeared in all 47 games with the Stars during his rookie season, posting five goals and 12 assists for 17 points with a team-best +14 rating. Among rookie NHL defensemen, he ranks second in goals, points and plus/minus, and is third in assists. He also leads all Dallas defensemen in goals and ranks second in assists and points.
Dallas’ first round selection (28th overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft, Niskanen produced a stellar career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he was named to the All-WCHA First Team as a sophomore. In 39 games for the UMD Bulldogs in 2006-07, Niskanen recorded nine goals and 22 assists for 31 points with 42 penalty minutes, good for second in both points and goals among defensemen in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).
The native of Virginia, Minn., posted 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) in 77 games for Minnesota-Duluth his last two seasons, and represented the United States at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Vancouver, B.C.
2008 Western Conference YoungStars Team
Defensemen: Alexander Edler (VAN), Erik Johnson (STL), Jackson Johnson (LA), Matt Niskanen (DAL)
Forwards: Sam Gagner (EDM), Patrick Kane (CHI), Peter Mueller (PHX), David Perron (STL)
2008 Eastern Conference YoungStars Team
Defensemen: Tobias Enstrom (ATL), Kris Letang (PIT), Mike Lundin (TB), Marc Staal (NYR)
Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom (WSH), Brandon Dubinsky (NY Rangers), Tyler Kennedy (PIT), Milan Lucic (BOS)
Junior Lessard has been traded to Tampa Bay for a familiar face, defenseman Dan Jancevski. Here's the release from the Stars:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Dan Jancevski from the Tampa Bay Lighting in exchange for right wing Junior Lessard. Jancevski will report to the Iowa Stars, Dallas’ primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Jancevski, 26, has made two appearances with Tampa Bay this season, going scoreless with two penalty minutes. He has also played in 37 games with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) this season, posting four goals and 16 assists for 20 points. Among team leaders, he ranked third in assists and tied for third in points.
The 6-3, 218-pound defensemen was originally drafted by Dallas in the second round in 1999 (66th overall), and did play in two games with the Stars during the 2005-06 season. Jancevski served as the Iowa Stars’ captain during their inaugural season in ’05-06, leading team defensemen in scoring with 38 points (9-29-38).
The Windsor, Ontario, native played two full seasons with London of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and split a third season between London and Sudbury (OHL). In 197 career junior games, Jancevski collected 17 goals and 64 assists for 81 points with 390 penalty minutes.
If you are interested in tracking the Iowa Stars, Kevin Wey has been posting some game notes recently from Iowa home games on the message board. You can find them here. They include line combinations, injury update and some observations on the game and player.
And if you are looking for some hockey to watch after the Cowboys-Giants game (if you are watching that and I assume many of you will be), the Sharks and Ducks play tonight in Anaheim at 7 pm Central Time. Both are playing well, so it should be a good one. The Sharks have won ten straight on the road and the Ducks have won five straight at home.
I have mixed feelings on the loss to the Kings. I know the schedule has been tough here. This was their third game in three-and-a-half days or so and Sergei Zubov was out again, so it's not a surprise that there would be some struggles in the game. But at the same time when you get a 2-0 lead and a bunch of power plays, it's an opportunity to get something more than just a point out of a situation like that. To me, to be honest, it felt more like the loss of a point than getting a point under some tough circumstances. Just my opinion, but I understand the fatigue issue. It still bugs me that they don't have fresh legs to throw in there once in a while. That said, they can get some rest here going to the next two, which are going to be big games.
Give some credit to the Kings and Jason LaBarbera. They showed some resiliency in this one. They could have fallen apart after that second goal. I thought Marc Crawford was going to explode on the bench. That save LaBarbera made on Jeff Halpern in the third period when the game was tied 3-3 was spectacular. Save of the game. Despite their struggles this season, the Kings still have a lot of guys that can make you very nervous when they have the puck on their stick and are heading into the offensive zone. It's just proof that there are no easy points in this league.
CBC Sports has put together its All-Star snub team, a list of 15 players who were deserving of a spot on one of the two rosters. Among them is Mike Ribeiro. There are some other worthy players like Kristian Huselius, Pascal Leclaire, Michal Rozsival and Patrick Sharp to name a few. You can check the list, which is in photo gallery form, here.
The Star have recalled Mark Fistric from Iowa. Here's the release from the Stars:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has recalled defenseman Mark Fistric from the Iowa Stars, Dallas’ primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Fistric, 21, was recalled to the NHL for the first time in his career in November and has appeared in five games with the Stars this season, collecting one assist on Jan. 2 at Detroit. He has also skated in 30 games for Iowa this season, recording a goal and four assists for five points with 48 penalty minutes. In his first professional season last year with Iowa, the 6-2, 232-lb. defenseman registered 24 points (two goals, 22 assists) and 83 penalty minutes, and added 16 PIM in 12 Calder Cup Playoff games.
The native of Edmonton, Alta., was Dallas’ first-round selection (No. 28 overall) in the 2004 Entry Draft. In five seasons with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, Fistric posted 11 goals and 46 assists for 57 points with 453 penalty minutes. He served as Vancouver’s captain during the 2005-06 campaign, in which the club won the WHL crown and participated in the Memorial Cup tournament.
The league has released the complete roster for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, which will include the entire top line of the Senators. Tomas Vokoun and Rick DiPietro are the the goalies who will join Martin Brodeur.
Came across a CBC feature article on Mike Ribeiro, which includes some comments from the guy who cut the deal to bring him to Big D. While the Stars have turned things around since Doug Armstrong was fired almost two months ago, it is still the team he put together. The CBC article, which you can read here, opens this way:
Doug Armstrong appears reluctant when asked to discuss one of the most lopsided National Hockey League trades in recent memory.
On Sept. 30, 2006, the former Dallas Stars general manager acquired centre Mike Ribeiro and a 2008 draft pick from the Montreal Canadiens for defenceman Janne Niinimaa, who is now plying his trade in Davos, Switzerland.
"It's a deal that worked out for Dallas but I think Mike needs to get the credit more than anyone else," Armstrong, who was fired by the Stars two months ago, told CBCSports.ca.
I had a sense it could be a rough night for the Stars. The Blues are a tough team. I know people look at them and say eighth place or whatever, but they have a better winning percentage than the Stars thanks to their win Thursday night. They are having a pretty good season. Anyway, enough about the Blues.
On to the Stars, who looked a bit sluggish as a team. There were some bright spots like the Ribeiro line and some others. There were some good flourishes here and there, but not a lot of finish. Mike Smith? I didn't think he got a lot of help on this night, but I am not sure he had a memorable night either.
I am starting to wonder about his team carrying the minimum of 20 players. Thursday night was a game where they looked like they could have used some fresh legs, but they don't have anyone on the active roster to put in there right now. The best they can do is swap out goalies. Sergei Zubov has a lower body injury to add to the issue and he's the team's big minute guy. They play again Saturday, which will be their third game in basically three-and-a-half days and that is coming on the heels of some long travel. You'd think it is time to call up someone from Iowa.
Sources tell TSN it is believed the structure of the contract will pay Ovechkin 9 million per year for the first six years of the term and 10 million for the remaining seven years.
Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov is the team's lone player headed to the All-Star Game in Atlanta at this point. The Western Conference roster was just released. The full Eastern Conference roster comes out tomorrow. I thought Mike Ribeiro would get in, but he didn't. Jason Arnott did though. That should stir some debate among the faithful.
Good win Wednesday night for the Stars. Nothing fancy. Good road game. They caught a couple of breaks with Nikolai Khabibulin letting in a couple of soft goals, or at least that is how they looked. Other than that, the Bulin Wall had a very good game, but not good enough. Marty Turco ended up being better on this night. Mike Modano had an excellent game. Best player on the ice. Those two plays on the blue line during that one power play were outstanding. The work on the penalty kill was good. I think either Ralph or Razor mentioned a blue collar kind of game and that's what he had tonight. He was outstanding. It just goes to show that he can still have a big impact on the game even if he isn't the No. 1 offensive center.
Another big road trip here. Chicago tonight and the Blackhawks are struggling. They've lost six in a row and are coming off an overtime loss in Montreal last night. They have a lot of injuries. Chicago beat the Stars twice earlier this season but times have changed for both teams. The Stars have turned things around over the course of the season and the Blackhawks have trailed off a bit, a lot of which has to do with the injuries. But they'll be desperate for a win and I'd expect a good push from them.
Mike Heika has a story in today's on the role of Mike Modano in the wake of the Mike Ribeiro contract extension. Maybe I am clueless here, but haven't we been watching Modano's role change all season long? I know Ribeiro's contract extension cements things over the long-term, but Ribeiro has become the top center offensively speaking. Modano still does a lot of things, checking and killing penalties and the like. He is still on the power play. He's getting ice time, but he's not producing a lot offensively. Right now, with Lehtinen and Jokinen out there aren't a lot of offensive guys to go around. No offense to Halpern and Ott, but you get my point.
While I am on the subject of the Ribeiro signing, I caught this analysis on the The Hockey News site from Ryan Dixon. Heika wondered if Ribeiro would have the role of Joe Nieuwendyk back in the late 90's; Dixon thinks of another former Star when discussing Ribeiro.
Ribeiro, who signed a five year, $25 million contract extention Monday, is a highly skilled player just entering his prime. And for all those fans worried Ribeiro’s star is more shooting than super, it’s worth noting there’s been steady progression in his game over the last handful of seasons. He led the Habs in scoring during the last Dead Puck Era year in 2003-04 and, after an off-year the first season after the lockout, he led all Dallas scorers last year and is poised to do so again.
The tactic of GMs paying (or in some cases, overpaying) for play they anticipate on the horizon, rather than viewed in the past, has morphed from trend to standard practice. Dallas’ two-headed management monster of Brett Hull and Les Jackson feared if Ribeiro, who turns 28 Feb. 10, wasn’t locked up some overzealous GM would offer him God knows how much money upon becoming an unrestricted free agent in July.
That fretting was justified. Point-a-game players don’t grow on trees in the NHL.
Ribeiro’s resume certainly cries out for reward louder than that of some other players who’ve squeezed out lucrative deals based more on projection than previous action. Tell me again what Matt Carle has done to justify a four-year deal worth more than $3 million annually from the Sharks?
The only buyer beware that applies in Ribeiro’s case has to do with the fact Dallas has slotted him in as its No. 1 pivot for the next five years. That, along with a minute-munching blueline stud and top-flight goalie, is one of hockey’s holy trio of positions that must be filled by any team with Cup aspirations.
Ribeiro will produce points on an elite level, but overall his game is more Pierre Turgeon than Steve Yzerman. Or vintage Mike Modano for that matter.
Future Western Conference playoff grudge matches will see the slight Ribeiro lining up versus the likes of Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf and Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg. The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Getzlaf is on pace for one less point than Ribeiro and about 1,000 more hits and intimidating glares. In addition to scoring more than Ribeiro, Zetterberg attacks and defends with equal enthusiasm.
Dallas will get points from it’s $5 million man, but the less tangible aspects might be another story.
And to close, I think two Stars will probably make it as All-Star reserves. I am betting on Ribeiro and Sergei Zubov.
That was a busy night. The losing streak ends, which is good. The Mike Ribeiro contract extension was the big news. The Ribeiro deal is about what I expected as far as money. The term I thought might be a little shorter, but is no big deal to me. The Stars are getting a known commodity at a fair price when you look at what has happened in free agency. A player of Ribeiro's skill set, depending on what else is out there, would command more on the open market I am sure.
So, I look at it as a good deal in that sense. Still, the argument can be made that it is a lot of money and term to a player who has had one very good half a season. But he was due to be a UFA at the end of the season and a decision had to be made, and if I were in the shoes of Brett Hull and Les Jackson I would probably lean towards what they did. You just don't find many guys like Ribeiro floating around.
I like Ribeiro. I think he's really matured as a player and is fun to watch. He's obviously a great fit with Brenden Morrow and those two are locked up for a long time. That's a real positive.
As for the game, I thought the Stars played well. Marty Turco was very good in net. The Ribeiro line looked good. I thought the team played well defensively. The power play? Well, that is still an issue. Overall, I think things are looking up as they head out on what will be a good test on the road.
Not much out of practice today. Mark Fistric was sent down to Iowa. A few players had the day off. Modano, Zubov, Barnes and Halpern were not out there. Just given the day off to rest up according to Tippett.
Well, it wasn't a win but it wasn't exactly a disaster. The 3-0 score doesn't look great at the end of the day and neither does the fact that they failed to pick up any points for the fourth straight game. Still, I thought they played a pretty good game for the most part. They didn't give Detroit a lot, but then again Detroit was playing a pretty simple and patient road game. It came down to mistakes and cashing in on opportunities and the Red Wings obviously won that battle.
The Stars showed some improvement defensively, but you have to score to have a chance to win and offensively this team is struggling right now. They've had a lot of things go their way offensively at times this season and right now things are swinging the other way.
I thought Mike Smith was OK in the game. Solid for the most part, I thought. He didn't really have a chance on the Rafalski goal, made a big stop on Zetterberg on the five-on-three and probably would like to have the Cleary one in the third back.
We'll see how they are going forward. I said going into this one I would look at how they played more than the score. I thought there were some positives. It was a tightly played game and the Red Wings are more than capable of winning that way too.
I am expecting a better game from the Stars today against Detroit. I am betting they'll be tighter defensively and play it simple. Are they going to win? Don't know. I'll be looking more at how they play and not just the result. That doesn't mean the points aren't important. They are. Still, if they get some good goaltending, the power play creates some good chances and they play well defensively, I'll consider it a step back in the right direction regardless of the final score. Of course, the points would be nice too.
Here's the information on that January 20 game I mentioned in a previous post. It's Stars-Ducks game that NBC has chosen NOT to feature as its Game of the Week. This is the release from the Stars:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the game time for one HOME contest this season has been changed. Their game on January 20 vs. Anaheim has been changed to 2:30 p.m. (instead of 12:30 p.m.). The game will be televised on FSN Southwest.
The game was originally slated for 12:30 pm on January 20 as a possible NBC national broadcast game. For that day, NBC has selected the New York Rangers vs. the Boston Bruins game to televise. In order for the Stars to televise their game with the Ducks and not fall into NBC’s exclusive time window, the club moved the start time to 2:30 pm.
The Stars have hit some bumps in the road here. Is it time to panic? No. Cause for concern? Sure. Prolonged slumps have to start somewhere and they start with things like three-game losing streaks. They haven't been all that good here the last little bit. The top line is struggling. The power play is struggling. The goaltending hasn't been where it needs to be. The Stars had all of those elements or most of them - along with a solid penalty kill which continues to excel - on a nightly basis. Now, they basically have had the penalty kill and some secondary scoring, except for the Nashville game of course. That's not going to add up to a lot of wins. Missing some key players doesn't help.
But the simple fact is they have been on a pretty good run here for quite a long stretch. They had won 16 of 21 before these three straight losses. You are going to have ups and downs over the course of a season. Teams have them and players have them. You just don't want to see it turn into a prolonged slump because of how tight things are in the standings. Every point is important.
It won't get any easier with Detroit coming to town for round two on Saturday. It will be a good test. They are in a bit of a slump and the Red Wings have been very good lately, except for one game following a road trip.
Not much to say about last night's game. I thought Tippett summed it up when he said the Red Wings chances went in and the Stars' chances didn't. But I thought the Red Wings got a better group effort in the game too, and he mentioned that as well. Detroit's best players were better than Dallas' best players. You aren't going to win very often when that happens. You need your goalie to steal one under those circumstances and Marty Turco couldn't come with the big stops.
It's just one game, but the Stars have hit a little funk here. They seem to be in a little funk that started with the St. Louis game, which they won in a shootout. Tonight's game will be a tough one. Minnesota will be rested and I think that 8-3 loss to the Stars will be in their minds. People will say you forget games like that. You don't. It should give the Wild a little extra motivation.
Sergei Zubov is out tonight for the Stars. He has a hand injury. He will not play in either Detroit or Minnesota. He may be ready for Saturday's game against the WIngs in Dallas. Zubov is a big loss for the Stars, so it won't be as much as a no excuses game as I thought. Still, you have to play with the players you have. It will be interesting.
Well, it is is the Stars and Red Wings tonight. The first meeting of the season. How much stock am I going to put in to it? I am not going look for a champagne bottle if they win. I am not going to start searching through the clutter around my desk for the panic button if they lose. I look at is as a measuring stick game against the team that has been the best in the league so far. Not much is settled in the grand scheme of things on January 2nd. Still, it's a good chance to see how the teams stack up against each other.
I don't see either team having a big advantage coming in as far as scheduling. The Red Wings were in a stretch of four games in six nights and coming off a road trip when they lost to St. Louis Monday. The energy was lacking. They should be somewhat refreshed. The Stars looked low on energy in the loss to Nashville, took Tuesday off and they should somewhat refreshed too. Both teams have some key injuries, even though Henrik Zetterberg is expected back in the lineup for the Wings tonight. So, it is a no excuses game.
Here's what Red Wings coach Mike Babcock had to say about the Stars in today's Detroit Free Press:
"Their game looked a lot like our game did last night," Wings coach Mike Babcock said after practice Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena. "When I watched the pre-scout this morning, I wasn't as impressed with them as I have been every single time I've watched them. So they obviously didn't have a great night last night."
But Babcock said the Stars do a lot of things well.
"Good goaltending, real mobile (defense)," he said. "I'm impressed with their four lines, how they play both defensively and offensively. Real patient team, don't give you much. Should be a lot of fun."
Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg, who has been out with back spasms, is expected to be back in the lineup for tomorrow night's game against the Stars.
"That's the plan, I feel ready to go," Zetterberg told the Detroit News. "I felt real good the last couple of days, been practicing pretty good and I'm ready to go."
