Andrew's Dallas Stars Blog

USA Hockey 14U National championships

I was out most of yesterday, but wanted to pass along this release sent out by the Stars that has to do with the 2009 USA Hockey National Championships for the 14U Tier I and Tier II Divisions being played here in North Texas:

Twenty-four (24) youth hockey teams will descend upon Frisco, Texas to compete for the supreme amateur hockey prize, the National Championship. The competition commences with an 8:00 am face-off April 1st at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Plano with a full slate of games scheduled throughout the day and concludes on April 5th with the crowning of 2009 National Champion for both the 14U Tier I and Tier II divisions. In all, 50 games will be played over the 5 day event. Youth hockey players representing 16 states including three local youth hockey teams from the Dallas Stars Selects and Dallas Stars programs are involved in the action. Tournament passes (day or all event passes) are available for purchase at the rink in Plano. The tournament staff has organized two special events for this year’s extravaganza. The Opening Ceremonies will be held at the Frisco Conference Center, located at the Embassy Suites in Frisco, in Frisco 6 on Wednesday evening, April 1, 2009. All participating teams will be in attendance and individually recognized. The national anthem will be performed by Celena Rae and the scheduled guest speakers from the Dallas Stars include Jeff Cogen, club President, Ralph Strangis, play by play announcer and US Hockey Hall of Famer and Co-General Manager Brett Hull. There will be food, music, videos, vendor booths, and much more. Additionally, the Easton Skills Challenge will take place showcasing the special hockey skills of these amateur athletes. This event is patterned after the skills competition held each year prior to the NHL All-Star game. It is completely funded and sponsored by Easton, the primary corporate sponsor of the Championships each year for USA Hockey. The 2009 USA Hockey National tournament is proudly hosted by the Alliance Youth Hockey Association. Tournament Chairman Rick Hall (Alliance Youth Hockey) and Co-Chairman Bob Smith ( Dallas Stars Selects) are both long time dedicated volunteers of the Dallas, Fort Worth youth hockey community. The Frisco Convention & Visitors Bureau has worked very closely with the Alliance Hockey Tournament staff to provide all the visitor information, hotel reservations, services, and amenities players, parents, coaches, and fans may need during the Championships. Rick Hall, Tournament Chairman stated, “This championship is the culmination of extraordinary effort, sacrifice and determination for these coaches, players and parents. Our group of volunteers staffing this event is committed to ensuring that it is a memorable experience for all involved. Jeff Cogen, president of the Dallas Stars expressed, “We are excited about our role in this tournament and being involved with the amateur athletes of USA Hockey.”

The slide continues

Well, what can you say about that one. If you had told be they’d score five goals I would have put money on a win. They scored five and lost. It was pretty ugly at times. Kind of entertaining at other times.

It was not a good night for Tobias Stephan, who was making his first start since March 1 and his fifth of the season for the Stars. He looked shaky for most of the game, but had some really big saves in the third. It was a tough spot for him. He hadn’t played in a while and he was playing behind a team that’s simply a mess at times right now. It added up to six goals. There were some quality chances coming his way at times. The two power play goals Phoenix got, including Petr Prucha’s game-winner in OT, were wide open looks right on the door step. He looked like he might have over committed on a couple of the early ones. Probably trying to do too much out there. It’s unfortunate for Stephan. I think he’s a better goalie than what he showed Monday night. 

As for the overall game, it was kind of the same old story. Get the lead, get in penalty trouble, surrender power play goal, other team gets going. That’s what happened on this night. Give them credit for coming back and making it an entertaining finish.

They got a point and are seven points out of eighth with six games to go. The tragic number is down to five. They are eighth in the draft lottery race.

Monday update

The Stars may be fading out of the playoff picture, but the last two weeks in the West are going to be terrific because teams keep winning. How much are they winning? Take a look at Columbus. The Blue Jackets are 7-2-2 in their last 11 games, but their lead over the eighth place has dropped to just three points because St. Louis has won five in a row and two of those wins came over Columbus this weekend. The Blues won in a shootout Saturday and then 5-2 yesterday. Nashville has three straight wins, points in eight straight games and is in seventh place, just two points behind the Blue Jackets. Anaheim has won six of seven and is one point out of eighth. Edmonton and Minnesota, which beat the Oilers yesterday, are still both in the hunt too.

Sunday's games;

Nashville 4, Detroit 3
St. Louis 5, Columbus 2
Minnesota 3, Edmonton 2
Anaheim 4, Colorado 1

With all these teams winning, the points pace for the last spot has hit 90 points. The Stars couldn't hit that mark if they won out, but they are still mathematically alive. Their tragic number is, however, down to six points. 

RK	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	Monday
6	Columbus	76	39	29	8	86	idle
7	Nashville	76	38	30	8	84	idle
8	St. Louis	76	37	30	9	83	idle
9	Anaheim	76	38	32	6	82	idle
10	Edmonton	76	36	31	9	81	idle
11	Minnesota	76	36	32	8	80	idle
12	Dallas	75	33	33	9	75	Mon. at Phoenix

As for the draft lottery standings, the Stars are in the eighth spot.

Rk	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS
1	NY Islanders	75	25	41	9	59
2	Colorado	76	31	43	2	64
3	Tampa Bay	76	24	35	17	65
4	Phoenix	75	31	37	7	69
5	Atlanta	76	32	38	6	70
6	Los Angeles	75	31	33	11	73
7	Toronto	76	31	32	13	75
8	Dallas	75	33	33	9	75
9	Ottawa	75	33	32	10	76
10	Minnesota	76	36	32	8	80

Stars recall Jancevski, Stafford

The Stars have recalled defenseman Dan Jancevski and Garrett Stafford under emergency conditions. Here’s the release from the Stars:

The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has recalled defensemen Dan Jancevski from Hamilton (AHL) and Garrett Stafford from Grand Rapids (AHL) under emergency conditions. Both players will join the Stars for their two-game road trip to Phoenix and Los Angeles. 

Jancevski, 27, has recorded 28 points (1 goal, 27 assists) and 70 penalty minutes in 72 games with Hamilton this season. Among Bulldogs defensemen, he ranks first in assists and second in points, and is third on the team overall in plus/minus (+23).

Originally selected by Dallas in the second round (No. 66 overall) of the 1999 Entry Draft, Jancevski has skated in six career NHL games, recording two penalty minutes. The 6-3, 218-pound defenseman made his NHL debut with the Stars on Feb. 4, 2006 at St. Louis, and served as captain for AHL Iowa in the club’s inaugural season of 2005-06. A native of Windsor, Ont., Jancevski posted 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 22 Calder Cup Playoff games in 2006-07, helping Hamilton win the AHL championship.

Stafford, 29, has registered 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) and 46 penalty minutes in 67 games with Grand Rapids this season, good for second on the Griffins in assist. He is tied for sixth among all AHL defensemen in scoring.

The 6-0, 200-pound rearguard went scoreless in two NHL games with Detroit last season, making his NHL debut on Feb. 23, 2008 vs. Vancouver. A native of Los Angeles, he was named to the 2002 Hockey East Second All-Star Team as a junior at New Hampshire, and to the league’s All-Tournament Team as a senior in 2003. He also skated in the 2004 AHL All-Star Game.

Sunday morning update

Here's just a quick look at the standings from two perspectives. One is the playoff race, where the Stars are still mathematically in it but their chances are very, very slim right now.

The Sports Club Stats website, which tracks the chances of teams making the playoffs, gives the Stars about a one percent chance right now. Even if the Stars win out and finish with 89 points, it's still not a guarantee they would make it. They would then have a 64.6 percent chance of making it.

For those of you tracking the tragic number, it now stands at eight according to nhlplayoffrace.com.

Several key games in the race today. It's going to be a great finish for those final two spots.

RK	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	Sunday
7	Nashville	75	37	30	8	82	at Detroit
8	Edmonton	75	36	30	9	81	at Minnesota
9	St. Louis	75	36	30	9	81	at Columbus
10	Anaheim	75	37	32	6	80	vs. Colorado
11	Minnesota	75	35	32	8	78	vs. Edmonton
12	Dallas	75	33	33	9	75	Mon. vs. Phoenix

Here's a different way to look at the standings, and that's from the draft lottery perspective. The Stars are currently ninth in the NHL draft lottery race with a 2.7 percent chance of winning it and moving up four spots. The fewer points the higher rank in these standings.

Rk	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS
1	NY Islanders	75	25	41	9	59
2	Colorado	75	31	42	2	64
3	Tampa Bay	75	24	34	17	65
4	Phoenix	75	31	37	7	69
5	Atlanta	76	32	38	6	70
6	Los Angeles	75	31	33	11	73
7	Ottawa	74	32	32	10	74
8	Toronto	76	31	32	13	75
9	Dallas	75	33	33	9	75
10	Minnesota	75	35	32	8	78

An interesting twist on Ott

The league is probably going to take a look at Steve Ott’s charging major from last night’s game to see if there is any further discipline warranted but Colin Campbell, who usually handles discipline issues, won’t be involved. That’s because Ott nailed Gregory Campbell, who happens to be Colin Campbell’s son.

Campbell doesn’t handle disciplinary situations involving Florida players or Florida games. In fact, according to a recent New York Post report, Campbell doesn’t even get involved in anything related Eastern Conference contenders right now. It’s not because the league thinks Campbell is one of those parents who thinks his kid or his kid’s team can do no wrong, but because the league doesn’t want the perception of bias to exist.

Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail that that the NHL’s Bill Daly sent to Larry Brooks of the New York Post on Campbell’s involvement regarding the Panthers.

“[There is no question] about Colie’s integrity and impartiality in doing his job, but we recognize the potential ‘perception’ of bias that might exist,” Daly wrote. “As a result, Colie does not (and has not since Gregory joined Florida) handle any supplementary discipline decisions involving any Panther players or any game involving the Panthers.

“He would also recuse himself from handling any situation that could be deemed to directly impact the Panthers competitively.”

.

The New York Post article, which was published March 12, is here. 

Another frustrating night

Where have we seen this scenario before? The Stars start strong, get a lead, take some penalties and the other team scores on the PP to get back in the game. There was a little twist tonight when the Stars got the lead back, but then there was a meltdown at the end of the second and early in the third and all of a sudden it was a 4-2 game. Chris Conner makes it interesting with a goal, but Jay Bouwmeester scores from a sharp angle on the power play and it’s 5-3 again. That’s the way it goes.

Seven games to go and six points out. It’s not going to happen. They could win out and their chances of making the playoffs would still be iffy. And let’s be honest, they are 0-5-1 in their last six and haven’t looked close to being able to maintain a consistent enough level through 60 minutes to get the job done. They look like a team out of gas and running on fumes. It’s tough to watch. They’re trying, but it’s not just happening for them. Marty Turco had another rough game. The defense group took a hit early, so they had to go with five most of the game and then another injury hit late.

Mark Fistric left the game in the first period with an upper body injury and did not return. Stephane Robidas got hurt when he got tangled up with Stephen Weiss late in the game and had to be helped off the ice. He has a lower body injury. Both are listed as day-to-day. The Stars are down to four healthy defensemen right now. They weren’t planning on bring up Ivan Vishnevskiy or Dan Jancevski, but situations change and so do plans.

The Stars won’t practice tomorrow. They’ll leave for Phoenix in the afternoon. They play the Coyotes Monday night and that one is on Versus.

I am sure the league will look at Steve Ott’s hit on Gregory Campbell. We’ll see what comes of it. It didn’t help the cause much since the Panthers scored on that power play.

The diving call on Mike Ribeiro for snapping his head back after he got high sticked was kind of strange. I thought he might be selling it a little, but it’s not like that was hockey’s version of Billy Mays or something. It was a pretty weak call.

Of course, officiating had nothing to do with the outcome of this game. The players did and Florida’s simply got the job done. The Panthers are still in the hunt for a playoff spot and the Stars, while still mathematically in it, are basically done. Too many teams to climb over, too many points to make up and not enough time to do it. They have more ground to make up now then they did back in late November.

Here are some postgame quotes provided by Stars PR: 

read more...»

Saturday morning update

Dave Tippett had this to say yesterday: "We still have our fate in our hands. If we can win some games we can get back in the race."

A couple of wins would help the cause which, while not looking very good these days, is not totally lost. String a few wins together and things can still change. But they have to string those wins together, and some help from teams not really in the race and that are basically locks for spots would help.

No matter what happens today the Stars will still be in 12th place, but they could be anywhere from three points to six points out of that last spot depending on what they and others do. There could be a lot of movement among the other teams. Nashville is at home against Los Angeles, St. Louis is at home against Columbus and Minnesota is at Calgary.

Only one game last night and it was a good one. Edmonton won 5-3 at Anaheim to move back into seventh place and push the Ducks back into ninth place.

The Stars' tragic number is still 11 according to nhlplayoff race.com

RK	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	Saturday
7	Edmonton	75	36	30	9	81	idle
8	Nashville	74	36	30	8	80	vs. Los Angeles
9	Anaheim	75	37	32	6	80	idle
10	St. Louis	74	35	30	9	79	vs. Columbus
11	Minnesota	74	35	31	8	78	at Calgary
12	Dallas	74	33	32	9	75	vs. Florida

Friday night stuff

Pretty wild game between the Oilers and Ducks Friday night. The Oilers won 5-3. J-S Giguere got pulled in the game, not once but twice. First after letting up two goals on the first two shots in the first 1:48 of the game and then again in the second period after letting up two goals in nine seconds. The Ducks outshot the Oilers 54-20, including 24-3 in the third period. Dwayne Roloson made 51 saves for Edmonton.  Several scrums, couple of fights. High intensity game and that should have been expected with what was at stake. With the win the Oilers moved back into seventh place and the Ducks dropped down to ninth.

What it means for the Stars? They didn’t lose any ground in the playoff race. They are still five points out of 8th and in 12th place heading into Saturday’s game against Florida. Lots of big games tomorrow. More on that later Saturday morning. 

Stars mock draft

The NHL Entry Draft is still a long ways away and where the Stars will draft is still to be determined, but NHL.com had a mock draft with Dallas picking at the No.8 spot. Three people took a shot at which player the Stars would take and here were the results. The comments on the players are those provided by NHL.com. I think they are a little heavy on the comparisons to team's current players, but they are trying to build interest.

Player	What NHL.com says
Zack Kassian, RW, Peterborough (OHL)	Big, powerful forward plays like a younger Brenden Morrow.
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, RW/LW, Timra (Sweden)	Spectacular speed and nose for net makes the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Swede tough to handle.
Jacob Josefson, C, Djurgarden (Sweden)	Cut from the same mold as Mike Modano; already is playing against men.

You can see all the results by going here. There's a box with links to the mock drafts.

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