Stars Winning Despite Further Injuries

Well, finally I get a chance to sit down and get a few thoughts in about the Stars and other hockey matters. So sorry for the delay in this post - I expected to have it up yesterday.

The Stars finished December strongly, and have looked great as of late. They went 8-4-1 in December and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. While that might not turn heads around the league yet, it certainly is an improvement over October and November. The top performers continue to be the top performers - great, reliable play from Mike Modano, Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards has helped on a regular basis, and strong contributions from young players James Neal & Loui Erikkson has helped. The Stars will play Detroit twice in the next week, so they are hoping their strong play of late can carry on into those matches, at least.

Speaking of Neal, the youngster has pulled into a tie for the league lead in goals by rookies this season. We'll almost certainly see Neal at the end of this month in Montreal for the "Young Stars Game" on January 24th, the night before the All Star Game. I knew Neal had a bright future with the club, just from seeing him skate at the last couple of camps, but it was great to see him seize the opportunity he got this season and run with it.

The Stars have been successful recently, even though they continue to be a banged-up bunch. Landon Wilson is the latest addition to the scratch list. Wilson sustained a rib injury in the game against Edmonton on Saturday, and is currently listed as day-to-day. The Stars hope to get more information about his injury tomorrow. Fabian Brunnstrom has a high-ankle sprain, and will be out for at least the next couple of games. The team hopes he'll be ready in about 7-10 days, but because that kind of injury can be hard to diagnose and even harder to mend, it could be longer. There is good news in that Joel Lundqvist is skating again, and may be back as early as Thursday against the Red Wings. This should limit any call-ups the Stars may need to make this week.

As banged up as they've been this season, and as much as they've struggled, do you think there will be pressure for the Stars to make a deal before the trade deadline this season? Or will the problems assimilating Sean Avery into the group this year still be too strong in everyone's mind for management to make a trade?

Stars Prepare to Close Out 2008

I think the Stars are happy to see 2008 come to a close. Although there has been lots of good (last year's success in the playoffs, for example), there have been lots of let-downs too (last year's exit from the playoffs and the Sean Avery Show, for more examples).

Although the Stars couldn't pull out the victory in last night's game against the Stars, they did look good matched up against the league's "top team". There was lots of energy throughout the lines, and the physical play that has been missing at several points this season was very evident at the AAC last night. Steve Ott brought the same game he's been bringing since coming back from his hand injury - everything but the fisticuffs. No one wants to bring that aspect back to his game more than Ott, but he's being very smart in how he plays. And there are foes around the league who are taking rain checks, you can count on it. Otter's dance card will be full when he can drop the mitts again. But, as Razor said in his commentary last night, the only thing that might keep Ott out of the lineup for a long time would be a tongue injury. His jawing is key to his game. But it wasn't just the physicality that looked good last night - there were some displays of finesse too. James Neal has looked fantastic in his latest stint with the club, and last night the line of Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen and Neal was the most successful, in terms of chances against the Sharks.

Bottom line - even though the Stars didn't pull out the win, they were right in it all through the game. The Sharks have only been defeated eight times in the 36 games they've played, and four of those times it took overtime to decide the winner. There's no shame in dropping one against San Jose, even though the win would have been nice.

It's time to look onward and upward, though. The annual New Year's Eve game is tomorrow, and this year it brings us the New Jersey Devils. It's been six and a half years since the trade that made Jamie Langenbrunner a Devil; hard to believe sometimes. I don't know about any one else, but it's still difficult to see him playing in another team's sweater. At least he went to the Eastern Conference, and we don't run into him more often...I have a feeling we'd regret that trade more and more if we did.

One more thing to look forward to for the new year - the Annual Winter Classic hockey game played on New Year's Day. This year's matchup is the Blackhawks and the Red Wings and will be played in Chicago's beloved Wrigley Field. I really love what the NHL has done in creating this annual event - the outdoor game is a wonderful oddity, and is great to see. Hopefully the execs who schedule this every year take notice of how well it is received every year by the fans, and will continue to schedule this every year. I would love to see the Stars play in one, but it's pretty obvious that it would have to be a road game if they do. How great would it be to see the Stars take on the Wild up on a lake in Minnesota though? Very cool!

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.

Stars Coming Home; Will Avery Join Them?

It was a disappointing last night for Stars fans. I knew going into the game it was going to be tough; it was the second game in as many nights for the Stars, all on the road. In addition, they're embroiled in a controversy that has received a lot of press and put them under the microscope.

What I wasn't expecting last night, though, was a strong game out of #9. Mike Modano almost single-handedly brought the Stars back into the game. Down 3-0 in the third period, Mo notched two goals, and had the Stars within one in the final minutes of the game. But, with Turco on the bench, and the extra skater in, Matt Niskanen made a poor decision with the puck (he had a few last night, but this one couldn't be covered up), and the Oilers tallied an easy open-net goal. They put an extra nail in a coffin that was already well sealed seconds later. A defensive breakdown by Fabian Brunnstrom left an Oiler unchecked in front of the net, and a redirection gave us the final score of 5-2.

New Stars forward Mark Parrish was hit in the face with a puck last night and didn't return to the game after the injury. That could cost the Stars another forward. It's been a long time since I've seen the team this depleted by injuries. You hate to use that as an excuse, but it's hard not to offer it up as an explanation for the 9-12-2-2 record.

But, that said, the Stars are returning home. They get to play in front of their home crowd, which all teams love to do, and hopefully they can pull some inspiration from that. The next two games are against opponents that have also struggled this season, and are very winnable. The third game is against the hated Red Wings, and that will be a difficult one to win. But if the Stars can get another two wins under their belts, and are winners of four of the last five games they've played going into the Detroit tilt? Who knows...

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Sean Avery and Stars Co-GM Brett Hull are meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in New York this morning to determine what further punishment will be doled out for Avery's comments on Tuesday. But, regardless of what fines and suspensions are given out by the league, Avery is going to have to face his team when he comes back to Dallas. And, from the reactions they've had the last couple of days, that may be the biggest barrier to him returning to the Stars lineup any time soon.

Stars Head Coach Dave Tippett has his finger on the pulse of the team better than anyone else, outside of the players, and had this to say:

"From a coach's standpoint, I try to build a team that has an atmosphere where players care about each other and play with each other and play with continuity, and I find it hard to believe that Sean could come back in that dressing room and we could find that continuity again,"

Tippett had been talking to the media just minutes before Avery's off-color remarks, and had been defending him. For Tippett, the biggest insult wasn't the words Avery made - it was the pre-meditation of the statements, and the way he went out of his way to break a promise he gave the coach. Tippett said:

"It's frustrating for me to go out and defend the guy. It's disappointing, because in the morning with all the stuff going on in the media, I approached Sean and asked him if he was going to talk to media; he told me, no. He talked to our PR people and he told them, no, he wasn't going to talk to the media ... and to have a calculated response like that ... it was a calculated statement for what I feel was personal gain."

Many players have come out and denounced Avery's words as well. But it runs deeper than this incident, and that is becoming more and more obvious. The words that have been used - "unacceptable", "disappointing", "embarrassment", etc. - go to describe the team's feelings about Avery himself, and not just his stupid remarks. Avery may be back in town with the team on Friday, but I have a feeling it will be some time before we see Sean Avery in a Stars jersey again - if we do at all.