Stars News and Notes: Neal suspended two games
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
James Neal had a phone hearing with the league Friday morning and a couple hours later the news was not good for the Stars' leading goal scorer. The NHL suspended Neal two games for his hit on Columbus forward Derek Dorsett in Thursday's game.
Prior to the league announcing the ruling, Neal said the meeting, which was done via telephone, was brief.
"They asked about the hit. I said what I thought about it. That was it," Neal said following Friday's practice, which he joined late due to the hearing. "I didn't try to hurt anybody. I'm going in there fast and I had no intent to injure Dorsett. I was trying to hit the defenseman. I hope he's OK."
In announcing the suspension the league labeled it a hit from behind. During the game, Neal was given a boarding major and a game misconduct for the hit, which left Dorsett on the ice for several minutes after his head hit the glass.
The two games will cost Neal $8,515.00 in salary. He will miss Saturday's game against New Jersey, Monday's game against Carolina and will be eligible to return for Wednesday's game against St. Louis.
As for Dorsett, the Blue Jackets said he was heading back to Columbus and would miss the remaining four games of the team's road trip.
Peters gets his shot
With James Neal out of the lineup for the next two games and Fabian Brunnstrom and Brian Sutherby still injured, chances are center Warren Peters will get inserted into the lineup.
Peters, who can also play wing, was injured in the preseason, suffering a fractured orbital bone in a fight during a game against St. Louis. He's been playing with the Texas Stars and was called up Thursday.
"He's a gritty guy. He plays with his heart," said Stars head coach Marc Crawford. "Anytime you have guys who play with their heart and are competitive that is such a great trait."
Peters was sporting a bandage on his chin after getting cut in practice.
"He's a depth player and they signed him because of his competitiveness and his combativeness," said Crawford. "We did see it in the preseason, where he broke his orbital bone. Even today he got a little bit of a cut in practice."
The 27-year-old Peters, who played 16 games with the Calgary Flames last season, missed the beginning of the season due to the orbital bone injury, but has found his stride in Cedar Park recently. He has goals in five straight games. For the season he has seven goals, four assists and a plus-four rating in 16 games.
"When I was down there it was a matter of getting back to the level of play I needed to get to," Peters said following Friday's practice in Frisco. "It took me a little while to get there and I felt I was getting there. Getting the call up here will help."
Practice notes
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C Brad Richards, RW Jere Lehtinen and D Trevor Daley did not practice Friday due to minor injury issues. All three are expected to play Saturday.
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RW Fabian Brunnstrom practiced Friday, but still not take any contact. He did say he was able to shoot the puck for the first time since injuring the shoulder in practice last week. "It's a step forward," Brunnstrom said. "The next step is contact."
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LW Brian Sutherby, who has been out with a groin injury, skated on his own Friday.
Quotable
"We should be a team that should be able to score. In order to score you really have to have a willingness to score dirty goals, so that's the area we probably have to pick up the most."
Stars coach Marc Crawford, whose team has scored 16 goals in the last eight games.
Quotable II
"The good news is nobody got injured at breakfast. So it was good today. You never know the way things are going. Somebody could get sick."
New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire on his team's current injury situation. The Devils are missing five regular players right now, including two centers and two defensemen. (Newark Star-Ledger)
