Dodging a bullet
That was a heck of a game. You couldn’t ask for much more. There was a lot of scoring, it was physical, there were a few fights and there was controversy. It doesn’t get any better than that. I am not going to worry about style points right now and that includes blowing the two-goal lead. Two points are two points. They still have some issues and they got thrown a curve on this night because they were down a defenseman when Trevor Daley went out. It’s a lower body thing and there was no update on this status.
Anyway, being down a defenseman hurt and that helped Columbus climb back in the game late in the second and in the third period.
I thought the Stars got a break on the review of the Manny Malhotra goal in overtime. It was a close one that could have gone either way. I don’t really worry about what was called in the past or any of that stuff. I just look at the play that just happened and try to decide for myself if that should be a goal or not. I thought he kicked it in. Someone else could look at it, like Ken Hitchcock, and say it wasn’t kicked in and I wouldn’t roll my eyes and say you have to be kidding. It was a tough call. But a call had to be made and it went the Stars’ way. They haven’t got many breaks this year and needed this one.
Another big night for Loui Eriksson, who just continues to pile up the goals. The power play finally delivered. Marty Turco gives up five goals on the night but he came up with some big saves in overtime and then gets the job done in the shootout to get the win. W’s are the bottom line.
Anyway, the bottom line is they have their second two-game winning streak of the season. They’ve won three of four and six of nine. They are in games on a regular basis and are finding ways to win them, especially these games that go to overtime and the shootout. Those are important points. They are still in 14th place, but they are just three points out of eighth and four points out of seventh. They are right in the thick of things and that’s probably how it is going to go here for a while now.
These next two games on the road are big even though they aren’t against conference foes. These are games where they can build on the recent success.
Here are the postgame quotes provided by Stars PR:
Continue reading»Zubov Surgery
I’ve been out of pocket for most of the afternoon, so you’ve probably heard this by now: Sergei Zubov is going to have hip surgery and will be out indefinitely. It will be done by a specialist in Colorado.
Also, Chris Conner has been sent back to Peoria of the AHL with Joel Lundqvist and Steve Ott coming off IR.
Injury update for Thursday
Robidas - In
Lundqvist - In
Ott - In
Lehtinen - No
Sutherby - No
Zubov - Nothing new
Wandell back to Sweden
The Stars are sending forward Tom Wandell back to Sweden. That’s a sign things are improving on the injury front. Here’s the release.
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has re-assigned center Tom Wandell to Timra IK in the Swedish Elite League.
Wandell, 21, made his NHL debut on Dec. 10 vs. Phoenix and netted his first career NHL goal on Dec. 12 vs. Detroit, in his second career game. In four games, he had the one goal on three shots with a +1 rating.
Wandell skated in 28 games with Timra this season, recording 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points with 18 penalty minutes. At the time of his recall on Dec. 5, he was tied for first on the club in both goals and points, and was second in assists.
The native of Sodertalje, Sweden, played the AHL Iowa Stars last season, posting 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists) and 16 penalty minutes in 53. He added three goals in three games with the ECHL Idaho Steelheads in 2007-08. In 50 games with Assat Pori in the Finnish Elite League in 2006-07, the 6-1, 185-pound center collected 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) and 20 PIM.
Dallas’ fifth-round pick (No. 154 overall) in the 2005 Draft, Wandell skated for Team Sweden at the 2004 World Under-18 Championships and the 2006 Four Nations Cup.
Wednesday practice update
There were a lot of players on the ice today for practice. Stephane Robidas, Jere Lehtinen, Joel Lundqvist, Steve Ott and Brian Sutherby were all out there today.
Robidas has been cleared to play by doctors and should be ready to go tomorrow.
Decisions on other players will be made tomorrow morning.
Lehtinen, who practiced on a line with Mike Ribeiro and James Neal, said after practice that he felt good and that he was close.
Lundqvist said he feels pretty close and needed to talk to Tippett.
Ott visited the doctor Wednesday and said his status is now in Tippett’s hands.
Sutherby left practice early and is still not there yet.
As for Sergei Zubov, he saw a specialist in Colorado and there was no update today. Tippett said there would be an update tomorrow. Zubov is still talking to different people and weighing the various options on how to deal with his hip injury. Again, there should be an update tomorrow.
Mike Modano had the day off and didn’t practice, so here’s how things lined up as far as the forwards.
Neal-Ribeiro-Lehtinen
Eriksson-Richards-Brunnstrom
Conner-Petersen-Parrish
Barch-Wandell-Wilson
Lundqvist-Sutherby-Ott
Points are points
Tonight was a bottom line kind of game for me. They got a much needed two points. It would have been nice if they could have done it in regulation, but two points are better than one point or no points. It wasn’t pretty, as Dave Tippett pointed out in his postgame comments, but it wasn’t awful either.
They played a good first, Marty Turco was great in the second, gave up a goal in the third that allowed Phoenix to tie and then they found a way to win it in overtime. Add it all up and it comes out to an important two points and right now it’s all about points as they try to climb out of this hole they’ve dug for themselves through the first third of the season.
Considering where they are as far as position in the standings and with the injury situation, it’s all about finding ways to win games.
Loui Eriksson came up big with two big goals. Eriksson does a lot of little things and he doesn’t have to score to contribute, but they needed the goal scoring tonight and he delivered. He’s become a key player on this team, not just because of the offense but because of all the stuff he does in all three zones in all situations.
One way they are going to be in a position to win every night is to get good goaltending and they are starting to get that right now. This was the fourth time in the last six starts that Turco has allowed just one goal. That increases their chances of winning significantly. The penalty kill has been better lately. That increases the chances. The power play continues to struggle, and if they can get that straightened out at some point that will help increase their chances on a nightly basis as well. Some of these injured guys start getting back and things start looking a little better too. There should be an update on that front tomorrow.
But again, it’s just one game. Columbus is another game on Thursday and it’s a big one. The Blue Jackets host San Jose Wednesday night so they’ll be on the tail end of a back-to-back and chances are they’ll be coming off a high pace game with the Sharks. The Stars need to take advantage of a situation like that and take two points away from Columbus. The Stars have been getting hammered on back-to-backs so far this season, so maybe they can turn the tables a bit on Thursday.
Here are the postgame quotes provided by Stars PR:
Continue reading»Hamilton not interested in Sean Avery
If the Dallas Stars eventually try to send Sean Avery to the minors, the Hamilton Bulldogs won’t be a destination according to the Hamilton Spectator.
Bulldogs general manager Julien Brisebois says the Stars have not asked the Montreal Canadiens for permission to put Avery in Hamilton. And he says he’s not interested in having him here even if they did ask.
“The agreement we have with Dallas is for the two players that we currently have,” Brisebois said. “That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t ask us to take another player in Hamilton and if they did we would consider it. But we’re not interested in (Avery).”
Brisebois declined to give his reasons for not wanting Avery, who was recently suspended by the NHL for crude and disparaging remarks about his former girlfriends who are now dating other NHL players.
The Stars have defenseman Dan Jancevski and forward Tyler Shelast in Hamilton already.
Monday practice update
Lots of stuff on the injury front today. Let’s start with the new guy, Brian Sutherby, who had been out with a groin injury with the Ducks. He didn’t practice but saw some doctors went through some tests. He won’t play tomorrow against Phoenix and Sutherby said he wants to be careful with the injury.
“I want to make sure I do everything right and not set it back,” Sutherby said. “Just take a few days here and make sure it’s right.”
Time will tell on him.
Jere Lehtinen and Joel Lundqvist both went through a full practice today and both looked good, but neither will play tomorrow. The good news is that they are basically now on day-to-day status, according to coach Dave Tippett.
Lundqvist said he was still a little sore, but he was hoping to play this week.
Stephane Robidas will skate tomorrow, but he won’t play against Phoenix. Tippett said he is close though.
Steve Ott didn’t practice Wednesday. He is set to see the doctor Wednesday and if all goes well he could move to day-to-day status as well.
So there is progress on the injury front with a lot of these guys starting to get close.
As for the lines, nothing changed from over the weekend. It was the same lineup as Nashville.
Conner-Richards-Eriksson
Neal-Ribeiro-Brunnstrom
Petersen-Modano-Parrish
Barch-Wandell-Wilson
Benn makes Canadian roster
I don’t think this is a big surprise, but Stars prospect Jamie Benn has been named to Canada’s roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships.
Here’s the full roster from Hockey Canada.
Benn picks up another goal at Canada camp
Jamie Benn update
Just a quick note on Stars prospect Jamie Benn. He had two goals and an assist last night in an intersquad game at Canada’s National Junior Team selection camp. He didn’t score in Friday’s first game. The third and final game is tonight.
Here’s a recap of last night’s game from the Hockey Canada site.
Sutherby official
Here’s the release from the Stars:
The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has acquired center Brian Sutherby from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for center David McIntyre and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2010. The club also re-assigned defenseman Dan Jancevski to the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League.
Sutherby, 26, has skated in 17 games with Anaheim this season, recording three goals and three assists for six points with 19 penalty minutes and a +6 rating. The 6-3, 209-pound center has appeared in 321 career NHL games with Washington and Anaheim, recording 68 points (29 goals, 39 assists) and 357 penalty minutes. He has gone scoreless in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, including five against Dallas in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals.
The native of Edmonton, Alta., had his most prolific NHL season in 2005-06 with Washington, when he notched 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points in 69 games. He served as alternate captain for the Capitals in 2006-07, and was dealt from Washington to Anaheim in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2009 Entry Draft on Nov. 19, 2007.
Originally selected by Washington in the first round (No. 26 overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Sutherby won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2003 World Junior Championships. He skated for Moose Jaw (WHL) from 1998-2002, leading the Warriors in scoring during the 2000-01 season with 77 points (34 goals, 43 assists) in 59 games.
Jancevski, 27, returns to Hamilton after being recalled by Dallas on Dec. 11. He has skated in 25 games with Hamilton this season, recording a goal and nine assists for 10 points with 34 penalty minutes. His nine helpers are the most of any Bulldogs defenseman this season.
The native of Windsor, Ont., has gone scoreless in six career NHL games, including two last season with Dallas. He also appeared in two games with the Stars during the 2005-06 season, and in two with Tampa Bay in 2007-08.
The 6-3, 218-pound defenseman was originally selected by Dallas in second-round pick (No. 66 overall) of the 1999 Draft. He was a member of Hamilton’s 2007 AHL Calder Cup championship club, recording 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 22 games en route to the title.
Stars acquire Sutherby from Ducks
TSN is reporting that the Stars have acquired forward Brian Sutherby from the Anaheim Ducks for the rights to prospect David McIntyre, who is currently playing at Colgate.
Hull conference call on Avery
Here is the audio from Brett Hull’s conference call on Sean Avery:
Avery will not rejoin the Stars
Here’s the release from the Stars:
The Dallas Stars today announced that Sean Avery will not return to the NHL team. Representatives for both Avery and the Stars said they would continue to work together in support of Avery during “this critical time” for the player. All parties said there is a clear understanding that a return to the Stars is not in the best interest of either the hockey club or Avery.
“Sean needs to focus on his own well-being while the Stars hockey team must focus on playing hockey and competing for a playoff spot,” said Stars Co-General Manager Brett Hull. “Everyone understands that Sean will not return to the Dallas Stars. We all need to move forward.”
Stars management also said the team would not seek to challenge Avery’s contract under the conduct clause included in the Standard Player’s Contract. The agreement’s Paragraph 2 (e) directs all NHL players “to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.” Avery was suspended by the NHL last week for comments he made prior to a game with Calgary.
“The message here is: no distractions. Sean can focus on resolving his personal issues,” said Hull, “and the Stars will have closure on this episode. The team needs to put its energies into winning.”
The Stars said the team will continue to honor Avery’s contract while exploring all options for his hockey future consistent with the terms of his counseling.
“We do care about Sean and want what is best for him,” said Hull. “We’ve agreed to do what we can to help find him a place to play hockey once he addresses his personal issues.”
