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 Down Wings, Fall to Preds

I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to last night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. The same Wings that put us out of the playoffs last year were coming back to pick on a team that has very little resemblance to last year's squad that made it to the Western Conference Finals. And fresh off a loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, perennial whipping boys of the Pacific Division, things didn't look good.

But, when I stumbled across a deal on a pair of tickets, the opportunity to see one of my favorite rivalries was too great. My father-in-law and I picked up the tickets and joined the fans at the AAC for what turned out to be one of the better games of the season, thus far. It was kind of interesting to watch the number of Wings fans that turned out to cheer for their team. It was rather like being at a Texas Rangers game against the Boston Red Sox - nearly half the fans were rooting for the other side. Slightly bizarre.

Marty Turco was "Turcolicious" in net, stopping all but one of the 38 shots. Detroit peppered him in the third, but he held strong. A couple of his saves will be on Stars' highlight reels for the next year or two at least. And Stevie Ray Vaughn sent the fans on their way home singing - "If the house is a rockin', don't come a-knockin'..."

The Stars hopped on a plane and were off to Nashville for a game the next night. Tobias Stephan got the nod in goal for his first start since Halloween of this year. Unfortunately, probably in part due to fatigue from the previous night's game, the Stars came out flat and looked that way for most of the game. Stephan looked very good in net though, stopping several fantastic bids. One of the saves will probably be reflected upon as a top 10 save of the NHL season, as he robbed Nashville's Greg Zanon of a 3-on-1 goal with a quick glove save.

But, in the end, the Preds offense was too much for the beleaguered Stars. Down 2-0 in the final minutes, they pulled Stephan for an extra attacker, and the Preds got the empty netter to nail the coffin shut.

The Stars are set to play again tomorrow night, facing the Phoenix Coyotes once again at the AAC.

In transaction-type news.... The Stars confirmed what most fans believed already: Sean Avery will not be suiting up for Dallas again. Too much had happened (very little of it publicized) for him to return to the team and be a trusted, contributing member of the team. I held out hope that Avery would be a good addition to the Dallas roster when they signed him in July...but I worried about the rumors. Unfortunately the rumors were too true.

Dallas swung a minor trade over the weekend - the Stars sent minor leaguer David McIntyre (a fifth round pick in 2006) and a conditional sixth round draft pick in 2010 to the Anaheim Ducks for Brian Sutherby. Sutherby was the Washington Capitals first pick (26th overall) in 2000. He has struggled to make a name for himself, but at 26 years old, is still pretty young, and has a good upside. It hurts to lose McIntyre though...a big guy with good hands who is still playing in the college ranks. I kind of agree with what Mike Heika had to say on this one - not much of an upside on this trade, but maybe Sutherby will be another missing piece like Hagman was a couple of years ago.

NHL Hands Avery a Six-Game Suspension; Now What?

Sean Avery received a six-game suspension from the league this morning. The suspension is retroactive to the Calgary game, so he's already served two of the six games. His first eligible game back would be on Dec. 16 when the Stars host the Phoenix Coyotes at the AAC.

I won't go on too long about this, because lord knows it's everywhere on the net, newspapers and television lately, but there are a few things.

The length of the suspension really didn't matter, other than to set precedence. The players and coaching staff of the Stars have already made their feelings known about Avery, and he's not going to be welcomed back after the suspension is served. Barring a significant change of rhetoric and heart, Sean Avery has probably played his last game for the Stars.

What remains to be seen is how the Stars will handle his contract. Mike Heika has some really great thoughts on this the other day in a DMN article. The first option the Stars have, as he said, is to trade him. I can't imagine anyone crazy enough to take on this mess, but as a friend of mine said the other day, how else did Bryan Marchment have such a long career. Valid point, no? But, I would say the chances are pretty slim of an NHL team wanting to work out a trade for him. He'd be going cheap, I guarantee! After that option, he'll most likely be waived, and if he passes through waivers, he eligible for designation to an AHL club. This is *if* an AHL club wants him. As the Stars are without a full, official, AHL affiliate this year, any of the AHL teams are an option. The only way I could see this working is if a team is trying to up attendance numbers. They might take him on simply for the spectacle of it. And, at the AHL level, I'm sure Avery could be a 20 goal scorer. That's something he has yet to do in his NHL career.

One AHL club with which the Stars have ties - a partial affiliation - are the Manitoba Moose. The Moose (Meese?) have already said they're not interested in taking him. There have been rumors and speculation about other clubs, but nothing concrete. But, it will be interesting to see what becomes of Avery. I foresee his Stars jersey being DEEPLY discounted in the StarCenters in the near future.

Claude Lemieux Training with CHL's Arizona Sundogs

Several weeks ago, I had posted a story that mentioned Claude Lemieux's interest in returning to the NHL after a five-year absence. Well, it seems that Claude hasn't given that dream up just because no teams have been interested so far. He's eyeing pro hockey in North America again - this time in the CHL. The league sent out the following press release:



The 2008 Central Hockey League Ray Miron President’s Cup Champion Arizona Sundogs have announced that four-time Stanley Cup Champion and former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Claude Lemieux has joined the Club for formal on-ice workouts. In September, Lemieux expressed interest in making a return to the National Hockey League (NHL).

Lemieux, 43, won four Stanley Cup Championships with three different teams (Montreal – 1986, New Jersey – 1995, Colorado – 1996, New Jersey – 2000) during his 20 seasons in the NHL. A veteran of nearly 1,200 NHL games, Lemieux won the Conn Smythe trophy while with New Jersey in 1995, selected as the league’s playoff MVP.

In 1197 regular season NHL contests, the Buckingham, Quebec, native registered 379 goals, 406 assists and 1756 penalty minutes (PIM).

Known for strong play in the postseason, Lemieux added 80 goals, 78 assists and 529 PIM in 233 playoff appearances and ranks among the league’s all-time best in several playoff categories. His 233 playoff appearances rank tied for fourth all-time and his 80 career playoff goals rank ninth all-time. Lemieux also ranks third all-time in career playoff game-winning goals (19) and career PIM (529).

Lemieux has been skating with the Sundogs for the past week and will continue to do so in an effort to pursue a comeback to the NHL. Five years removed from the game, Lemieux retired from NHL play in 2002-03 after splitting his final season with the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars.

The Sundogs next take on Southwest Division foe New Mexico on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. Game time is set for 7:05pm. Tickets are available by phone at 1-866-4-GET-TIX (1-866-443-8849), on the internet at www.gettix.net and in person at the Tim’s Toyota Center Box Office.