Dallas Stars

[pmorrow]

Plllleeeeaaasseee hold on for me Lehtonen. I need this

[NoWayOut]

They've developed a case of the yips here...those demons are getting restless....

[NoWayOut]

Now that's the ticket guys. That might not have been a complete game, the nervous, conservative game that haunts the Stars did surface in the final stages of the second and through a large part of the third that's why I say it wasn't a complete game. That said it was their most complete game to date.

- Garbutt gets a tip of the cap for his efforts. Drew four penalties, although in fairness he got nailed with a well earned embellishment on the fourth. Toss in the game sealer in the empty net. Overall the Pitbull line did their jobs well off the jump and again late.

- Kari wasn't tested too much but just like the team overall this is something positive to build off of.

- On the negative side. Check out this distribution of ice time on the power play....

Cole- 2:17
Sceviour- 2:58
Horcoff- 2:17
Garbutt- 0:20
Fiddler- 0:09
Jo. Benn- 0:21
Klingberg- 0:00

Only Moen, Oleksiak, McKenzie, and Klinger didn't see the ice on the power play. So what asinine reason do you have to explain that Lindy? Inexcusable, unless Klingberg did something very egregious. He saw 2:00+ against Detroit, and almost 21:00 for the game. Tonight, less than 13:00 total and the goose egg on the PP. I'm dying to hear the reasoning not that I think Lindy has a good excuse. That was his lowest ice time since his call up. This one has me fired up.

Anyway I'lll choke down my anger over the Klinger slight and enjoy the victory.

[Instant Karma]

I think Ruff is a bit of a weirdo, myself. Just my opinion. I wasn't too happy to hear that he was coming to the Stars.

[NoWayOut]

I hear ya. I have to admit I'm kind of kicking myself over getting so upset about the Klingberg deal, at least tonight anyway. I should be happy with the win and vented tomorrow.

Now off to get a shot of rum to celebrate a much needed and well earned Stars win!

[NoWayOut]

Shall we see what's new in Big D? Yes, yes we shall....

- Lindy Ruff explained his scratching Ales Hemsky against the Habs. Courtesy of Mike Heika's He Said It article.....

On Ales Hemsky being scratched:

“Coach’s decision. That’s all. You hope from that experience that the player learns. He had a tough last game and we are in a position now where we have to play the hardest most willing competitors. Those are hard decisions. I know it’s tough but the guys that are laying the hardest will play. It may a different guy on a different night but they are going to play.”

So you parked his ass in the press box for not competing hard.......O_0

BWHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WOO!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH MY GOD!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HA Oh Lindy, Lindy, Lindy, your too much brother HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh your killing me here, oh yeah oh yeah there went the first rib HAHAHAHA

Oh Oh Ha Ha Ha Ha Hahaha........I think it's over.........

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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Ok I have regained my composure....hahaha.....sorry that just slipped out. Way to go Lindy, I'm sure this got his attention. No more floating from here on out. Hahaha This scratch will undo a whole career worth of doing just that.:roll eyes:

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- A curiously worded statement from the Stars regarding Julius Honka and Finland's WJC roster. This was first reported by Chris Johnston and retweeted by Heika, so as it originated on twitter take it for what you will.....

The #stars have told the Finnish federation that Julius Honka can join the world junior team as long as he isn't in the NHL on Dec. 23.

Realllllllyyyyyy. Hmmmm, that is interesting they said it like that. Is Nill tipping his hand, or merely keeping his options open? I'd vote the later, but you never know. If he is planning a move to bring Honka up, who goes to open room? They already have seven D in Dallas. Trade a guy like Daley or Goli? Demote Jokipakka or......gasp.....Klingberg? It should be noted that Ruff appeared to have Klinger in his doghouse Saturday night. I think if anybody goes down it's Jokipakka but they have made me look the fool before trying to divine their train of thought . Personally I'd be happy to trade Daley or Jordie for a bag of pucks if you just want to create an opening for Honka, or anybody else.

[NoWayOut]

Alright, I'm an idiot. If I had just bothered to read the replies to Chris Johnston's tweet I would have seen Heika say the Stars are just covering their bases in case of injury. Barring an injury Honka will be free to join Team Finland for the WJC. I let my desire to see Daley, Goli, and Jordie heading north on I-35 get the better of me. Jumping to conclusions again.

[VincentVega]

Ruff's explanation of why he cut down Klingberg's minutes last game:

Ruff was asked about reducing John Klingberg’s minutes. The 22-year-old defenseman played 24 minutes or more in Games 2-6 of his NHL career and then 26 minutes in Game 9. However, Ruff played him a season-low 13:27 in the 4-1 win over Montreal Saturday.
“I said this when he was going well: I didn’t want to get too far ahead,” Ruff said. “I think it hurt his game. For a couple games, he played poorly. He defended poorly, was in on a lot of scoring chances against. We’ve got to be cautious here. We can all get excited and jump up and down, but the league will take a look at him, figure him out, which I think teams have now. They are a little more cautious and have more respect for what he can do offensively. For me, it’s just to make sure that this young defenseman stays on the right track. He’ll get better, but we gave him way too much responsibility. It led to reckless play, individual play.”
Klingberg has nine points (3 goals, 6 assists) and is plus-8 in 13 NHL games.
Asked specifically if Klingberg was jumping into the play too much, Ruff said no.
“I have no problem with that. I want him to use his instincts. I love the way he plays,” Ruff said. “All I’m saying is if you go too fast, this is a hard league and the other teams figure you out and then pretty soon you start going sideways. Once you start going sideways, sometimes you go backwards. I don’t want him to go backwards. I think he’s going the right direction again. He had a couple sideways but now he’s going the right direction again.”

Here's the full article

[NoWayOut]

Thanks VV. Totally missed that article. Soooo, I guess I can park the Righteous Indignation-mobile in the garage where it belongs

[VincentVega]

Thanks VV. Totally missed that article. Soooo, I guess I can park the Righteous Indignation-mobile in the garage where it belongs

No problemo. Haha, I like your righteous indignation prose - reads better.

[NoWayOut]

Not much new going on headed into tonight's game. Hemsky gets to watch another one from the press box. The same lines and D pairings as they ran out vs. Montreal. For reference....

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

Goligoski - Daley
Benn - Demers
Oleksiak - Klingberg

Lehtonen

I have to say, as much as I have a downer on Sceviour at this level, he had one of his best games Saturday night on that line. I need to keep an open mind here. If it works I'm open to admitting I could be wrong. I do like the fact that McKenzie is getting some run here too. I think he can be good, he just has to get the ice time. I love his willingness to go mix it up in the corners, drive to the net, and his hustle after loose pucks. He showed he has a goal scorers touch in the AHL, and if he can translate that to this level his pairing with a play maker like Spezza and his ability to get in there and muck about in front he can get some chances on rebounds and deflections and do some damage.

That's an area that the Stars in general have been lagging behind this season. They're generous to a fault in letting opponents hang out in Kari's face and get those second and third chances on rebounds, which we've all seen how those ended. Dallas hasn't gotten that much on the other end of the ice. They did a much better job of it against Montreal, Eakin's power play goal is a perfect example. He camped out on the doorstep and was able to corral the rebound and put it away. Now as a team they need to start doing more of that. Roussel is good at it but he lacks McKenzie's offensive ability. I think once McKenzie gets some consistent ice time and can get into a groove, he can be a good fit as the second line LW, an area that has been lacking. Cole just isn't consistent enough, or frankly at this point is his career good enough, at to be counted on in that role in my opinion.

Now that Klingberg's role is being scaled back for the time being, I guess McKenzie now becomes the rookie I bang on and on about. I do think though if Ruff will just buy into letting him play instead of the alternating scratches that he had going with Sceviour he will start to click. Now's the time to seize the opportunity with Eaves out for a long stretch and Hemsky eating hot dogs, or BBQ, it is Texas after all, in the press box it's there for the taking. You know, I can't quite picture Ales eating BBQ. I mean if Dustin Penner could injure himself with something as benign as a pancake, Hemsky could sustain a season ending injury from a good 'ol Texas brisket, but I digress.

Back on topic, even as they try to right the ship and try to claw back into contention for the 8th spot in the West, time to audition these kids to find the replacement for Cole after his contract is up this offseason. I like to think that Nill will let Cole walk or maybe find a sucker to take him towards the deadline. Of course there's two defenseman, we don't need to name them, we all know who there are, that I'd like to see gone before Cole. But one upgrade at a time....

[yougo]

How long before the Stars give Brett Ritchie a shot at the top6 ?

[NoWayOut]

How long before the Stars give Brett Ritchie a shot at the top6 ?

If they get hit with a rash of injuries or if the game against the Habs was a mirage and things continue to spiral down he might get a shot this season, but I'd think next season is more likely. If he does get a shot this season I'd look for it mid-to-late January on. Purely speculation on my part as to that last bit.

Cole and Horcoff's contracts are up after this season and if Sceviour and/or McKenzie can't fully take the reins on a spot in Dallas there's another opening as they would be sent back to Cedar Park. And there's still the unknown of who gets moved if Nill pursues any trades, especially for D, which I think he will and the resulting openings.

[NoWayOut]

Far from their worst effort but still the essence of the season distilled. All four penalty killers getting caught puck-staring to Kari's right and two Jets all alone to his left. And Daley would have been better off just letting the puck on through to Kari cleanly if he couldn't get his body in front of the shot. Instead typical Daley, redirect it right into his own net. And Kari could have been in better position. Looked a little scrambly in his crease leading up to that one. Jordie gets half credit on the Wheeler goal as he drifted right across Kari's line of sight just as the puck leaves Wheeler's stick or a split second before, probably just enough to put Kari that fraction of a second off.

Turnovers are still an issue as is getting the puck out of their own end. Too much cross ice passing deep in their end and same for retreating back from the blueline towards the goal line if they see the neutral zone plugged.

And if not skating hard to loose pucks and such is enough for Hemsky to get the hook, damn he could have a lot of company in the press box based on that criteria. Too much standing around waiting for slowly drifting pucks to come to them instead of going and getting it. Too many times instead of coming up and initiating contact with a Jets player who's only a couple of strides away and just about to grab the puck. Go knock 'em on their ass and get the puck, quit being so passive.

At least Tyler gave us something positive there. He is absolutely lethal from that low slot area to the goalie's right. Gorgeous tic-tac-toe passing to set it up. Scary to watch him and know he's only 22 and can only get better. A thing of beauty indeed!

[NoWayOut]

Now that's why you get in there and get dirty guys. You do that and you get rewarded eventually.