Dallas Stars

[rainydrinkwater]

Coach Q seems to feel the same. Western conference take notice. The Dallas Stars are poised to joined the conference's top teams.

@FriedgeHNIC: RT @ChrisKuc: Coach Joel Quenneville said someone should "call the cops" because #Blackhawks stole two points vs. Stars.

[NoWayOut]

@FriedgeHNIC: RT @ChrisKuc: Coach Joel Quenneville said someone should "call the cops" because #Corey Crawford stole two points vs. Stars.

Fixed his quote.

[metaldude26]

Yeah the Stars played such a great speed game. Crow was out of his mind.

[rataylor22]

Hopefully people can stop saying Dallas is overrated and pretenders now. Dominated Chicago for most of the game.

[metaldude26]

Hopefully people can stop saying Dallas is overrated and pretenders now. Dominated Chicago for most of the game.

I'm trying to decide if that game was more revealing about the Stars or the Blackhawks. The Hawks were basically playing with 15 skaters. Tough to win that shorthanded. They are in serious need of some depth defensemen. David Rundblad is awful.

Loved the Stars' depth and speed though. Holy mackerel.

[NoWayOut]

I'm trying to decide if that game was more revealing about the Stars or the Blackhawks. The Hawks were basically playing with 15 skaters. Tough to win that shorthanded. They are in serious need of some depth defensemen. David Rundblad is awful.

Loved the Stars' depth and speed though. Holy mackerel.

I think it goes both ways, but maybe more revelatory about the Stars. I think Chicago as contender for a few seasons now has fewer question marks than a rising team like Dallas.

We learned that Dallas has the talent, the scheme, and the tenacity to keep other teams off balance. The D still has to be a question mark if for no other reason than you can't say they've gone from the porous unit we've seen over the last few seasons to suddenly all is fixed after just one game. It's a great start for the D, but we need to see it consistently now. And can they keep up that frenetic pace over a whole season? The next big test will be next week against the Pens.

[penguins87]

Guys - who is the better own for this season? Goligoski or Daley? I have a suspicion that Goli is going to be in the doghouse again and the coach wants someone else to step up and be the #1 PP QB.

I own Goli right now. Daley is on the WW.

League counts G, A, H, BS

[NoWayOut]

Tough call at the moment considering you already own Goli. I like Daley's sleeper potential, but the wild card in this is the new 4F,1D top power play unit. How long do they stick with it if it doesn't click? What happens when Hemsky or Spezza gets hurt, which they inevitably will? Do the Stars then go back to a traditional 3F,2D arrangement? Daley really becomes an attractive own if he can latch onto the role of lone D on PP1. Right now he has the leg up, but I don't see this as settled by any means between the two just yet. Ruff stated in the preseason he wants to rotate Goli and Daley in that spot. How long does that last and who has the inside track when the music stops? Anybody's guess right now.

It's a roll of the dice, but I think for now you ride the proven with Goli. Goli's a 40 pt+ D, he's more of a hitter than Daley, and the two are pretty much a push in the blocks department. Daley throughout his career has been a steady mid-20's point-wise, but unless he grabs significantly more power play time on a consistent basis I don't see him out-pointing Goli.

[penguins87]

nowayout - Beastly write up dude. Thanks for the input.

Not gonna lie - kind of counting on goli for a big year. It was a calculated risk, but I figured there wasn't an internal solution to the PP other than goli. I expected the biggest risk to come from a trade for a top end defender (which in my opinion is just about all they are missing).

[NoWayOut]

And a trade nearer the deadline may yet happen depending obviously on the standings. I do think it's more likely to happen during the offseason though once they've shed Gonchar and not so much in season. We'll see after the calendar flips over to 2015.

It appears their thought process is to find the fix less on the back end but with all the offensive firepower from the forward corps. After you get past Goli there really isn't much offense from the blue line right now. Daley certainly has the opportunity to step up in that facet but it's still an unknown how much more he can add to his usual numbers. Gonchar's best days in that regard are behind him, we all know that. Maybe Connauton steps up there too, no doubt they're hoping he does. Otherwise all the offensive D is still down in Cedar Park, the CHL, or in Europe.

[penguins87]

Lol I keep forgetting that gonch still plays for Dallas. Good analysis - you are probably correct in your assessment. Thanks!

[NoWayOut]

Ruff changing things up a bit for tonight.

- The Stars have said all through the offseason they wanted to limit Lehtonen's minutes and they aren't wasting any time doing just that. Lindback gets the start tonight.

- Eaves takes a seat and Cole returns to the lineup and will skate with Spezza and Hemsky.

- Oleksiak gets the start on D while Connauton watches from the press box. Oleksiak will be paired with fellow prospect Patrik Nemeth. Both Oleksiak and Nemeth were big pieces, literally and figuratively, for the Texas Stars D last season, but Mike Heika pointed out that they didn't log much time on the same pairing. Oleksiak was paired with Guance, and Nemeth with Jokipakka mostly. Should be interesting to see how they work together.

I do like it from the standpoint that Nemeth is really sound defensively so he should in theory be able to cover any brain farts that Oleksiak may suffer. I don't want to come off as being too down on Oleksiak. He still has the tools and talent to be a good defenseman, but he is lacking consistency. He can give you good, bad, great, and truly awful all in one shift, let alone one game. Ruff is playing it a bit safer giving him the minutes in what should be an easier matchup, though no cakewalk by any means.

[metaldude26]

Lindback is in? Get my bookie on the phone!

[NoWayOut]

Yep. Looks like Lindback. Heika is calling it, and Stepneski reported Lindback was first off the ice at practice.

[NoWayOut]

Well that certainly was a marked departure from Thursday. The first 30 wasn't bad even though the Stars felt what it was like for the Hawks in the opener. Dallas just couldn't find a way to move the play out of their end easily. Credit to Nashville for the game plan and they matched the Stars speed for speed. That's the thing, the Stars came out flying like on Thursday, but even when Nashville wasn't breaking up passes the Stars timing on passes just wasn't there. They also missed a few good opportunities early in the first by over-skating some pucks and not getting off rather open shots. That kind of set the tone later.
One thing was the same from Thursday unfortunately, and that was the play in the third period. I didn't get to see all of the period but what I did see of it, the Stars were just bulldozed. There's just something about them letting an opponent put them on the back foot in that period. It's only two games but it is area that needs addressed.

For the first two periods I thought the D played well again. Same for Lindback. The Weber goal at the end of the second did come through some traffic and may or may not have been tipped. It may be my old eyes but I couldn't say 100% it got through to him clean. Until everything unraveled in the third I think Lindback was good. Lehtonen is still the man, but Lindback should be a decent plan B.

Daley did get out there again on PP1, but it won't matter whether it's him or Goli, if they don't quit playing wide and trying to play for the perfect shot. Instead of trying to find the perfect shot take the merely good shot and let 'er rip tater chip. Still a work in progress.

At the risk of being seen as making excuses I can't help but wonder if the quality of the ice surface in Nashville may have had at least some small role with the timing issues I mentioned earlier. Pucks just didn't seem to settle right for the Stars and the Preds would be used to it. That's not to take anything away from Nashville, much as it pains me to ever give them credit for anything. The Stars just flat out got outplayed. But as they say Rome wasn't built in a day, and we are only two games in, still it sucks to open 0-2. And with the Pens coming up on Thursday 1-3 or 0-4 are a real possibility. Not the way you want to start in a tough division like the Central.