Zubov Out Indefinitely

The Stars have confirmed what fans have worried about for weeks - All-Star defenseman Sergei Zubov is going to be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Here's the pressy on it:

FRISCO, Tex. - The Dallas Stars announced today that defenseman Sergei Zubov will undergo surgery on his hip in January, and will be out indefinitely. The surgery will be performed by a hip specialist in Colorado.

Zubov, 38, has collected four helpers in 10 games this season, but has missed the last eight games due to injury. He also missed the season's first 12 games while recovering from pre-season hip surgery.

The Moscow native is the highest-scoring Russian-born defenseman in NHL history, and is the only blue-liner in the league to collect 30-or-more assists in each of the last 12 seasons. Zubov ranks 16th in NHL history in assists by a defenseman (619), and 17th among all-time blueliners in points (771), and is third among active NHL defensemen in both assists and points (behind Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom).

Zubov ranks third in Stars franchise history in games played (839) and assists (438), and is just five points shy of tying Bobby Smith for fifth on the franchise's all-time scoring list (111-438-549).

Hopefully some of the young defensemen that will take his spot (Niskanen, Fistric - I'm looking at you) can step up and embody his spirit.

In positive news, Dallas will get 3 players back for tonight's game against the Blue Jackets; Steve Ott, Stephane Robidas and Joel Lundqvist will all be in action tonight.

Stars Nip the Coyotes in Overtime, Try to Get Healthy

The Stars got a good effort last night, team-wide, despite giving up a point to the team they're chasing in the standings. The 2-1 victory over the Phoenix 'Yotes was one of the "must-wins" being talked about in the media so much lately. It's tough to see the Stars surrender a point to a team they're trying to catch, but progress is progress, and it's better than flipping those points around if Phoenix were to get the win.

Loui Eriksson had both of the Stars goals last night - neither score was a finesse one, but they put points on the scoreboard. It's really nice to see a young talent the Stars have been touting for years step up when the team needs him to. This is the kind of production they were hoping Antti Miettenan and Junior Lessard would give them, but never did. Right now, Eriksson is on pace to have 38 goals and 22 assists for a 60-point season.

A few things about injuries have come out in the last couple of days. Stephane Robidas had a metal plate stitched into his jaw last week to repair the latest damage he's taken. Word is that he is eager to get back out on the ice already. This man is like a Terminator robot; he just keeps coming at you. While his eagerness to get back is laudable, Coach Dave Tippett is urging him to take it slow, and Robidas will need to get medical approval to return. Chances are that won't be for Thursday's game against Columbus.

The other folks on the mend who could return to action soon are Joel Lundqvist, Jere Lehtinen and Brian Sutherby. Lundqvist has been mentioned by both Mike Heika and Tracey Myers as the most likely to return to action by Thursday, but even that is probably remote. But, all are skating, and that's a good sign.

Thursday's game is another big one that we probably have to have in order to get back into the hunt for the playoffs. It's weird to think of playoff pictures already, but when you're this far back and other teams are performing as well as they are, every game counts. It's unlikely the Stars will catch the Sharks for a division title this year; the Sharks are just so good and so deep this year, it'll be difficult. But, the #4 spot is still a good one, and it's never to early to think about positioning yourself well.

The Blue Jackets (13-14-1-2) have a very similar record to our own (12-14-2-2). We're playing at home, though, where we've played better this year. And the Jackets are pretty atrocious on the road so far this year (4-9-1-1). Their young goalie, Steve Mason, has been playing well lately though - he earned rookie of the month honors in November with a 1.98 GAA in 14 games. Turco will probably start for the Stars, and if he's on his game, we could see another low-scoring match.

Stars Struggling Early

Well, the Dallas Stars have gotten off to a bit of a rough start with their 0-1-1 record. They played a Columbus team that had started 0-2 and was fighting with all they had not to fall to 0-3, and then took it on the road the next night, gassed after an overtime scrap with the Jackets, and faced a gritty Nashville squad. It wasn't a great way to start things off, but hopefully it's gotten everyone's hockey blood flowing.

The Stars are going to square off against the Preds again on Wednesday, this time at the AAC, and then again hit the road the following night, this time up to St. Louis. It's a little bit of an odd start for the year, but I'm hoping to see the heart inside these Stars.

Also, an overdue update - the CHL has resolved it's player strike mentioned a couple of weeks ago. While not fully resolved, the league and the players association have come to an agreement that will allow players to continue with their clubs and negotiations to continue. More details soon.