Scary Good

Excuse the Halloween pun, even though it was totally intended.  Anyhoo, what a fantastic game! I only saw the second period on, but I liked what I saw. 

Special teams dominated, which is nice because they usually don’t.  The Stars started off the scoring with a 5-on-3 goal in the first, and ultimately went 2-for-6 on the PP.  Add a shortie to that, and you have a special-teams dominated score. 

Also surprising was the fact that Trevor Daley of all people scored a goal.  It was mildly crazy.  Of course, Daley would score on a night we didn’t really need the goal, but whatevs.  I’m not complaining; 4-0 is a nice score.

And how about Andrew Raycroft?  I’ll admit that I’ve been worried about our backup situation ever since Raycroft had a…uhm…sucky preseason start.  He sure didn’t show that last night.  Then again, the Sabres are a very troubled team, so that might have been an easy one to pull off.

Whatever, though.  I’ll take it.  A win is a win, no matter what the circumstances surrounding it are.

Next up: Wednesday against the (BLECH) Penguins.

Make it happen

Buzzkill

What a letdown.  Any momentum that the Stars had from the Florida win and the close Nashville loss was completely forgotten.   What made the whole thing worse was that we lost to the Ducks.  That made it sting a little bit more.

I personally went to bed after the second period because I was tired, sick, and had no voice from screaming at the TV.  What I saw was a sluggish Stars team whose heart wasn’t really in it at all.  In other words, it just wasn’t fun to watch.

I know this is short, but I get a mysterious case of writer’s block after every loss.  Add that on top of Stephane Robidas’ unfortunate suspension and you have a girl who doesn’t have much to say and just wants to cry.

Next up: I don’t really know off the top of my head. I know Buffalo is on Saturday though.  And now I sound dumb.

Whoever it is doesn’t matter. GO STARS.

Kudos to the Texas Rangers

I’m not a baseball fan at all. In fact, I’m not a big fan of any sport other than hockey.  Even so, I’m very proud of the Rangers for making it to the World Series.  Being from Texas, I’ll always root for a state team to do well. 

I’d also like to thank the Rangers for not losing last night. If they had lost, Game 7 would have been tonight, and nobody would have showed up to the Stars-Predators game.  Which isn’t really fair, but that’s the way it is.

The Stars play the first of a six-game homestand.  I keep expecting them to go back to normal and be last year’s team, and I don’t feel any differently now.  My prediction is that they lose this game and fall back to Earth, but it would be really rad if they proved me wrong.

That’s all I’ve got. GO STARS.

Let’s have a gif party…

Make it happen.

Wanna be on top?

This season so far has just been craziness.  The Leafs and Stars are the leaders of their respective conferences and remain the only teams unbeaten.  If someone had told me before the season started that we would start 4-0, I would have asked you what you were smoking.

Because obviously the Stars we know from recent seasons would never, ever start the season so well. I mean, it just doesn’t happen.

Ok, let’s talk about last night’s thriller.

• First, let’s talk Kari Lehtonen.  He’s the only reason they won that game.  Kari kept the Blues’ lead from increasing, while the Stars pulled themselves together to tie it.  He made key saves when they needed them. He’s been the rock back there all season. I hope he keeps it up.
• Brad Richards is tied for the league lead in points with Marian Hossa. He’s really making a big case for league MVP.  He’s had four straight two-point-or-more games.
• Loui Eriksson is vastly underrated.  He had a fantastic pass to James Neal for the first goal and his tying goal was beautiful. Loui’s become quite the sniper over the past couple of seasons. The sad thing is that no one’s really given him credit for his awesomeness.
• For a team that couldn’t score a shootout goal at all last year, going three-for-three was very impressive.  B-Rad’s goal was a terrific shot. Ribs’ was a thing of magic. Loui’s wasn’t even really a shot, but I loved it.
• Finally, look at this save of the year from Ty Conklin.  Ribs might have had nightmares about this one if we hadn’t won. I know I would have.

 Next up: Monday agianst B-Rad’s former team and his BFFFs, Vinny and Marty, the Yzerman Tampa Bay Lightning.

Let’s make it happen.

GO STARS

In Other News…

The Stars announced two personnel moves today.

First, Fabian Brunnstrom has been placed on waivers.  This really isn’t all that surprising.  He has no place on this team, even with Jamie Benn being injured. I’m fairly certain that no team will claim him, so all two of you Bunny-lovers can rejoice.

Here’s what GM Joe has to say about this:

We’ll see what happens on the wire. I know there are some teams interested, but I don’t know whether they’ll claim him. I think it’s just important that he gets playing again. It’s hard from his standpoint to be a part-time player. Either way, we have to get him in games. Austin will be a good fit for him, if that’s the case.

By the sounds of it, Fabio’s going to be in Austin for awhile.

The second little tidbit was a more joyful one.  The Stars added former NHL great, Gary Roberts, as a player consultant.  I think this is a wonderful addition.  Our very own James Neal knows Roberts very well, since the two of them are from the same hometown.  Roberts has trained Neal in the offseason, as well.  This can mean nothing but good things.  I adore this move so, so much.

Welp, that’s all for now, my lovelies.  It’s been quite a day, eh?

“90 is just a number. 9 is forever.”

I did not expect that. And let’s be honest, did any of us? We fucking OWNED that game. Last night was full of personal expectations for me that were not met. I expected to cry when I saw Mike Modano, but I didn’t even shed a tear. I expected the Wings to obliterate us, but instead we showed them the Dallas stars Blitzkrieg.

Crazy, right?

We had goals from the guys we need goals from- Brad Richards, Brenden Morrow, Loui (LOUI) Eriksson, and James “Real Deal” Neal.  Fun fact: Brenden Morrow is among the league leaders in goals, Brad Richards is a leader in points assists, and plus-minus, and we’re 3-0. Kari Lehtonen was a solid presence in the net.   We were outshot, and Kari performed magnificently.  Oh, and the PK wasn’t as atrocious as it was.  I mean, we only let in one goal on the PK. That’s progress.

Mark Fistric was a monster, as evidenced by this hit to Johan Franzen that has the Wings camp in an uproar:

Franzen left and is rumored to have a concussion. But never fear, it was a totally clean hit.  Fishsticks hits people to play the game, unlike guys like James Wisniewski who hurt guys to settle this sick desire to hurt people. But that’s just my opinion.

The Stars were the better team last night, and they showed it by doing the little things.  I was really proud of them.  Bottom line, we’re three-and-oh, bitches.  Stats are useless; the only one that matters is wins.  Obviously the Stars will fall back to Earth sometime, but I want to enjoy this wondeful feeling while it lasts.  It’s fun being at the top.

Finally, here’s some Modano footage, including an interview:

Nest up, we play the Blues.  The big question is, Will the Stars finally crash back down to Earth? Or will they keep up this shocking run?

Let’s make it happen. GO STARS.

Return of the King

This is the night we’ve been most anxious for. Tonight, Mike Modano makes his first appearance in Dallas since his April 8, 2010 dramatics.

It shouldn’t matter that he’s a Red Wing now. I think Stars fans need to focus more on the team we have right now, instead of the team from the glory days of ’99. The past is gone, and the future is here.

Like Herb Brooks once said, “the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one in the back.” We are Dallas Stars fans before we are Mike Modano fans. One player does not make a franchise, even if he defines it.

If you are lucky enough to be in attendence at the AAC tonight, cheer for Mike during whatever tribute they cook up. Love him like you would if the circumstances were normal.

Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what jersey he’s wearing, Mike Modano is still a Dallas Star. He always has and he always will. This should be a good one.

GO STARS

He’d Rather Laugh With the Sinners.

That’s Ribs’ mohawk-less mugshot.  Ribeiro was arrested late last night for public intoxication.  He and three others were at the Ra Sushi Bar Restaurant in Plano, when the two women in his group got into an altercation with other restaurant-goers. 

This is really not an issue.  It looks like a classic cliche of “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  I mean, he was at a bar.  There are going to be publicly intoxicated people.  I’d have more of an issue wth this if he’d been driving drunk and gotten a DUI.

Here’s what GM Joe has to say about all this:

We are aware of the incident with Mike Ribeiro that took place on Sunday evening. The Dallas Stars take these matters very seriously and we have spoken with Mike about the situation this morning. We will be handling the matter internally.

It doesn’t sound like the league will get into this at all, which is nice.  I just hope the team doesn’t suspend him since we really, really need him for Thursday.  I don;t know what will come of all this, but this is a bad break for the Stars.

Source.

Welcome Back.

Now that’s the way to start the season.  Obviously the Stars weren’t perfect, but that doesn’t matter.  What matters is that they looked really, really good out there.  I’ll admit that I thought the game was lost after we fell behind 2-0.  But I’d waited 181 effing days to see them, and I wasn’t going to be so quick to turn the game off. 

Luckily, Ilya Kovalchuk’s shot rand off the post, allowing the Wonder Twins to cut the lead on half to 2-1.  After that, some hard work and being in the right place at the right time gave Loui Eriksson his first goal of the night, tying it up. 

Obviously it couldn’t be so simple.  The Devils scored on the power play after a questionable Steve Ott call (had it been anyone else, charging wouldn’t have been called).  Then, Nealer let out his inner Brad Richards and gave a perfect pass to an incoming B-Rad. 

The third period was scoreless, but extremely tense.  My favorite moment was Stephane Robidas’ game-saving defensive play.  No stick and kicked the puck away LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL.  Robi saved the game right there. 

Then in overtime, Kovalchuk got tied up by Trevor Daley and B-Rad and Loui went in on the odd-man rush.  Loui scored, causing many to launch into cheers of “LOUI, LOUI!”  Just a little note, Kovalchuk: don’t be bothered by Trevor Daley; he’s really not that important.

Here are the highlights if you want to see them again (psh…as if you missed the game):

Unfortunately, they didn’t put in Jamie Benn’s big hit that sent a devil headfirst into his own bench.  Allow me to fawn over him, because he’s so wonderful.  Even though his line didn’t score, Bennster was a monster.

Also, I’m loving the Morrow-Ribeiro-Burish line.   They generated a lot of chances, and their one goal was a thing of beauty.  It’s good to have the Wonder Twins back, it really is.

In other Stars news, Mike Modano scored in his Red Wings debut.  I was so proud of him.  Don’t be a hater; he just wants to play hockey.  Is that such a crime?

Next up: Tonight against the Isles. Kari is the starter again.  Let’s not fall behind again, ok?

GO STARS.

It All Starts Tonight

Let’s face it: being a Stars fan has been rough lately. After exceeding expectations in the 2008 playoffs, big things were expected from the Stars. But, as we know, things didn’t go that way. In one season, the Stars went from dark horse Stanley Cup contender to Pacific division cellar dwellers.

Last season wasn’t any better. In fact, I found it positively heartbreaking. Sure, you had fabulous performances from Brad Richards and Jamie Benn, but that didn’t stop the season from being an emotionally devastating one. We had to bear with the departures of iconic Stars, Mike Modano, Marty Turco, and most likely Jere Lehtinen. That’s tough losing three franchise players in one summer. But it had to be done.

Oh, and then there was that little problem about not being able to string together three wins. (If they win tonight, that makes three in a row if you include carryover from last year).

Tonight the Stars face the Kovalchuk Devils. I think this is a bad way to start the season and that the Stars will get slaughtered, but that’s beside the point.

I mean, you’ve got to start somewhere.

GO STARS