Stars News and Notes: Fine, no suspension for Fistric
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
Stars defenseman Mark Fistric's wallet is a little lighter, but he won't be missing any more playing time for hitting Calgary's Eric Nystrom with his own helmet during a fight Wednesday night. The NHL fined, but did not suspend Fistric for the incident.
Fistric had a conference call with league disciplinarian Colin Campbell Thursday morning and was given a $2,500 fine, the maximum a player can get.
"We all said how we felt about it," said Fistric. "I stated how about it. Everybody said their thing and Mr. Campbell thought the best solution was the fine."
The helmet to the head during the fight, which happened in the first period of the game, got Fistric a match penalty, some play on highlight shows and lots of hits on YouTube.
"When I look at the tape, it's obviously
not the way that I felt it was. Obviously the helmet got caught in my
hand and I went to swing and the helmet was still there. I dropped it
right away once I realized it was still there," Fistric said. "Anyone
that knows me knows that not only was it my third fight in a long time,
but that I haven't had any history of being a dirty player or anything
like that.
"It was heat of the moment and you lose track of stuff. When the
adrenaline is going, you lose track of things. It's not what I wanted to
do. I meant no harm to Eric and I was glad that he came back and he was
fine and there was nothing wrong with him. I just have to move on from
it."
Said Stars head coach Marc Crawford: "For Mark, we've asked him to be aggressive, we've asked him to play with an edge and we want him to continue doing that. He made a mistake last night and he paid the price with the five minute penalty and the game misconduct, but we're thankful he didn't get anything more. Again, I think it was an accident. He's not that type of player. He had to pay a fine for it, but we're thankful he didn't get a suspension."
Injury notes: Lehtinen questionable
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RW Jere Lehtinen (neck) practiced Thursday in Frisco. The plan is to see where Lehtinen is after the pre-game skate Friday morning and prior to the game against Colorado.
"As we all know, he knows his body the best," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "When he's ready, he's got a great judgment for that."
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C Mike Ribeiro (throat) did not practice with the team on Thursday. He's still not cleared for contact practices.
"I believe he's going to skate [Friday] morning in our pre-game skate, and that's a non-contact practice. He'll be non-contact and exercising here in the short-term," said Crawford. "The plan is to work him out a little bit more off the ice and get him a little bit more conditioned so he'll be able to handle the practice load a little bit better.
"The next step is physical contact and when he is into that then he'll be ready to play. We're hopeful it will be a good progression and he'll get to play before the break, but if he doesn't then we're pretty confident he'll be ready after the break."
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C Tom Wandell was placed on injured reserve Thursday with an ACL injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. He is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday.
Auld expected to start Friday
Alex Auld, who stopped 23 of 26 shots in regulation and was 3-3 in the shootout in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over Calgary, is expected to get the start Friday against Colorado.
"I'll probably go with Alex again [Friday]. I thought he played well," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "Right now we are in a position where it is a day at a time. For Marty, he's just got to keep working. It's a tough predicament for him, but it is what it is. You go out and you get yourself ready because you have to be prepared to come in at a moment's notice. He's going to get an opportunity again, we know that. Alex is playing well right now, so we'll give him another start."
Practice notes
Several players were given the day off from practice Thursday. Among them was center Mike Modano, who played a season-high 18:06 in Wednesday's game. Modano scored a goal in that game, giving him four in the last seven contests.
"We've said all along that it is about freshness with Mike. We have to do everything we can to allow Mike to have as much energy as he can have in a game. Last night I think he responded real well to having the two days off," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. “We’re going to try to give Mike every opportunity to rejuvenate because this is a very difficult period that we’re going through right now with the intensity of the games. The intensity of the schedule, playing every second day until the break and the fact that we’ve got to do all that we can to make sure that he’s at his best in the game, that’s what counts.”
Modano is being counted on to log more minutes with both Mike Ribeiro and Tom Wandell out of the lineup.
"I've felt good the last little while," Modano said. "We've been getting days off and saving ourselves for the game. I've felt better doing that."
