Dallas Stars

[blayze]

I'd look at Iggy then Lehtonen. Iggy is hot right now so I'd go that route first. Kari has been good recently and if not for the carnage Friday night and that schedule I would have said go with him. It's a going to be a crap shoot until Dallas gets everything settled out and finds the right line combos after all the shakeup.

Thanks bud, that's where I'm leaning as well.

Ugh, Lehtonen was really starting to gain traction too... despite the team's under-performance this year, he's been a workhorse for me. He actually ranks 6th in among goalies in my points-only league.

I don't think the team will be able to continue to steal games here and there without Seguin's firepower... which makes Lehtonen much less attractive for the next month.

[NoWayOut]

Thanks bud, that's where I'm leaning as well.

Ugh, Lehtonen was really starting to gain traction too... despite the team's under-performance this year, he's been a workhorse for me. He actually ranks 6th in among goalies in my points-only league.

I don't think the team will be able to continue to steal games here and there without Seguin's firepower... which makes Lehtonen much less attractive for the next month.

The team as a whole was starting to gain some traction, yeah Friday was brutal. Not that their chances at the playoffs were great, now it'll be miraculous.

The lines at practice today, from Stepneski:

Benn-Spezza-Cole
Roussel-Eakin-Garbutt
McKenzie-Fiddler-Ritchie
Moen-Horcoff-Sceviour

Hemsky's still on the shelf, raise your hand if that comes as a shock, so naturally there's still plenty of shuffling ahead. I don't know how long Ruff keeps Spezza up there with Benn. Before all the injuries Cole-Spezza-Hemsky had been clicking as a line, so I would expect Ruff will try to reunite them once Hemsky returns. But still who to center the top line. Benn has done it before, so maybe he centers and Ritchie moves back to RW there, but who to play at LW? I don't envy Lindy these decisions.

With Patrick Nemeth getting closer to returning, maybe toss Daley up front, ala Burns/Byfuglien. What do the Stars have to lose at this point. Desperate times, yada yada. But first Nemeth has to be cleared for game action and I haven't seen a timetable for that yet. He worked hard on cardio while he was rehabbing so his conditioning should be close to game ready. And he's been cleared to practice and is doing so without the no-contact jersey. One would suspect it's just a matter of regaining strength in the arm and hand and he'll be good to go.

The move to put Daley in as a forward is just a theory I saw posited on twitter, but seriously how crazy would it really be at this point? The playoffs are looking like a long shot, and without Seguin it's hard to see a push coming. Why not one last Hail Mary, it's so crazy it just might work, here goes nothing gamble? He has enough offense to warrant a look and as depleted as the forward group looks it could be worth a one or two game trial. Just something that kind got me thinking and spitballing.

[Instant Karma]

They've moved Daley up front in the past, IIRC.

Likely not during Ruff's tenure, though.

[JimmyCanuck]

Moving Daley up front is only going to cause more disruption. Ruff should ensure the blue line is solidified before worrying about the forwards - and moving Daley up front as a third liner kills that. I guess nothing hurts at this point, but Daley is more valuable where he is now.

This makes no sense, but I guess when teams get desperate they have to consider shuffles like this.

[NoWayOut]

He might have, I don't remember it, but then again my memory isn't the greatest at the best of times.

I was just reading Heika's morning skate update and Lindy is singing a different tune now about Spezza and Benn. At first he wanted to keep them separated. Now he's wants Spezza to center Benn and have Eakin's line be the second scoring line. We'll see about that, I mean I like the Pitbulls but not sure as a group they're a capable second. Their forte is being the energy line and going heads up with the oppositions top line.

[NoWayOut]

Moving Daley up front is only going to cause more disruption. Ruff should ensure the blue line is solidified before worrying about the forwards - and moving Daley up front as a third liner kills that. I guess nothing hurts at this point, but Daley is more valuable where he is now.

This makes no sense, but I guess when teams get desperate they have to consider shuffles like this.

These are desperate times for the Stars. The Daley move is more spitballing then anything else, and would likely only happen if/when Nemeth returns. It would clear a spot for him without having to send Jokipakka back to Cedar Park or scratching him.

I think down the stretch here the Stars lines are going to look like they've gone through a blender on a nightly basis. It will likely resemble what happened back in October and November. Not much choice really.

[Instant Karma]

If they do decide to rob Peter to pay Paul, you see any chance of Klingberg moving up instead?

[NoWayOut]

If they do decide to rob Peter to pay Paul, you see any chance of Klingberg moving up instead?

Hmmm....interesting. Might be even better. Though all of this is still nothing more than theoretical brainstorming.

[NoWayOut]

Heika reporting that there are scouts at the game from: Vancouver, Montreal, Detroit, Toronto, and Chicago.

Easy to speculate who the principal would be in a Stars-Leafs deal, Phaneuf. The one I would much rather see, and Heika himself has floated it, Seabrook. We all know the cap issues looming for Chicago. If the two sides can work a deal, being division rivals naturally complicates things, I think Seabrook would be a great addition. More so than Phaneuf. I'm kind of meh about him though I think he could potentially work well opposite Klingberg.

Not sure what pieces might be in the mix with the Canucks, Habs, and Wings.

[NoWayOut]

Looks from the blueline don't get much more open the one Benn had. That's like a page straight out of our defensive playbook.

It's going to be interesting to watch the Pitbulls the next couple of nights. Ruff called them out. With the Seguin injury they get promoted to second line and he said if they don't start producing he won't hesitate to break them up.

[NoWayOut]

Hatty watch for Benn. And Eakin scores as I type that. I'm doing the happy dance....but why oh why am I feeling so nervous....

[NoWayOut]

Wow. Is this a case of the Stars being extremely motivated or the Blues taking a lazy approach and shrugging this one off and mailing it in? As Razor said to have 44 combined goals worth of offense sidelined with injuries and to go into St Louis and hang three on the Blues, didn't see that coming. We'll gladly take it but wouldn't have put a dime on it happening.

Still we've been here before and have the scorch marks to show for it. Hopefully Kari can find a lockdown mode.

[NoWayOut]

Nemeth is getting closer to returning. Heika reporting that Nemeth will join the Texas Stars Friday in Rochester. Bit of conditioning and he should be ready to go shortly. Adds some fuel to the trade fires perhaps? Maybe a deal coming to free some space? Who knows. Of course the imagination of hockey fans does sort of kick into overdrive this time year.

[NoWayOut]

Sweet baby jeebus, now Sceviour is out with an injury, questionable to return. And as I type that, Jamie Benn with the hatty, his first ever. SAY WHAT? The Captain hasn't had a hatty before. That's a bit shocking....

[STONE.]

How's Ritchie looking?