Five for Fighting

Observations from a 6-5 OT loss

Marc Crawford is an interesting coach.



I was told by several people that Crawford gave the players a stern talking to this morning, and pleaded and pushed for them to not be just a sometime team, but to be an all-the-time team.



And then Dallas went out and had a series of bad mistakes in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday...and...



Crawford was pleased...really. He said he was actually pretty happy with the game.



``We made some mistakes on the penalty kill and in other areas,'' he said. ``But on the other side of it, I thought we did a remarkable job. We more than doubled their chance totals, we kept battling even when we had a few breaks go against us. We're not pleased with the play we made at the end of the game, but apart from that, geez I thought we did a lot of good things.



``There's many more positive things for us to take from tonight's game for us than there are negative, although there are some negative,'' he added. ``We certainly have to do a better job killing penalties.''



The Stars allowed three power play goals for the second game in a row. They had spotty goaltending, as Alex Auld was pulled after allowing three goals on 15 shots, and Marty Turco then allowed three goals on 10 shots. The short-handed goal to give Atlanta a 4-3 third period lead was a mess all-around, as Matt Niskanen made a bad pinch, Brad Richards couldn't get back to break up a pass, and Marty Turco didn't come up with a big save at a huge time in the game.



Now, on the positive side, Dallas was able to tie the game when Stephane Robidas shot a puck off of the visor of Loui Eriksson with the goalie pulled, but then the Stars quickly lost the game in OT when it failed to clear the zone properly.



But Crawford was right about one thing _ they did create a lot of scoring chances. I gave Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec the first star of the game, despite the fact he gave up five goals. He robbed, Richards, Mike Modano, Eriksson, Jamie Benn and Jere Lehtinen on fantastic saves, and really kept his team in a game it should have lost.



But the bottom line is this Stars team finds new and frustrating ways to lose games every night. They now are 14-9-11, including 1-1-4 in their last six games. While that might look like .500 hockey, it feels like 1-5 hockey. And it seems very clear the team is frustrated and looking for an identity.



Maybe Crawford is simply allowing the players to find a way to take leadership roles. I'm told this isn't the first time he was stern behind closed doors, that he has had meetings with individuals or key pairs of players. So now maybe he's being softer after the game to allow the players to step up.



``The coach can't play the game,'' said Robidas. ``He can guide us and push us in the right direction, but we have to make the plays, and we have to be the leaders.''



Here are a few more words from Crawford:



``Sometimes, you get a little overanxious. As they say, patience is a virtue, but it is generally something you get through experience.''



``You're always trying to get your team to play at the level they need to play at. We played a good game tonight. We made some mistakes, but they were mistakes with people who were in unfamiliar positions. All things considered, we were a way better team than them.''



``It's always a work in progress, but I was pleased with the way we played tonight. I thought our forwards were great tonight. That was one of the better games they played. If we get that kind of effort, we'll get better.''



It is an interesting way of going about this thing. I think Crawford learned in Los Angeles and in his year in the TV booth that patience is important with a new team and with a young team. At least that's what it appears from the outside.



On the injury front, Mark Fistric got ``dinged up a bit'' and may have a concussion. Trevor Daley was in the pressbox with his arm in a sling from the shoulder injury he suffered Wednesday. Both will be re-evaluated on Friday, but I think both could be out for a little while.



We'll see who comes up from the AHL for Saturday's game against Detroit.



Dallas has six of the next seven games at home against some very good teams. We'll see how they react to this game and to their coach's words of encouragement.

Stars lose in OT, 6-5

Stars can't make a simple clear.



Thrashers stay out for long shift.



Rich Peverley scores game-winner on tap-in at the net.



Stars lose.



So how are you feeling now?

Stars tie it with 1:12 left

Stars pull goalie, and a hard Robidas shot appears to deflect in off of Loui Eriksson's visor and into the net.



Wow, 5-5

Stars now behind 5-4

Sorry, the internet was down.



Thrashers tied the game on a nice play by Maxim Afiogenov, who drew the power play and then converted.



They then went ahead when Rich Peverley scored short-handed.



Stars are out-shooting Thrashers 42-24.



Thrashers lead 5-4

Thrashers tie it, 4-4

Maxim Afinogenov drew a holding penalty from Matt Niskanen with an impressive offensive play, and then cashed in on the ensuing power play.



He was wide open on the back side to pop in a rebound and make it 4-4.

Stars take 4-3 lead

Stephane Robidas on the power play through another Loui Eriksson screen.



Mike Modano with another assist.



It's 4-3 with about 15 minutes left in the third.

Stars take 4-3 lead

Stephane Robidas on the power play through another Loui Eriksson screen.



Mike Modano with another assist.



It's 4-3 with about 15 minutes left in the third.

Jamie Benn ties it

Off a faceoff win, no less.



Benn steps right in on a puck that skitters off of Mike Ribeiro's stick on a faceoff, controls the puck, and then snaps one past Pavelec to make it 3-3. It was a boom-boom play.



Jere Lehtinen has a wide open net a minute later, and Pavelec gloves it again.



Shots are 33-15 Stars after two periods.

Now, Mark Fistric is out

It's upper body.



It just doesn't stop.



Trevor Daley is getting an MRI tomorrow, but he is up in the box in a sling, and he doesn't look like he's close to returning.

Now, they're down 3-2

Brad Richards took a penalty after the last goal, and Atlanta capitalized as Nik Antropov found some way to push the puck past Alex Auld.



Marc Crawford has pulled Auld and put in Marty Turco.

Thrashers tie it, 2-2

Great hustle by Jim Slater, as he drove to get to a puck and then fought to get the puck to the net.



Meanwhile, Chris Thorburn drove the net and helped the puck squeeze through.

They changed the first goal to Robidas

It's his eighth of the year.

Stars score short-handed

Pavelec has been very good with the glove, stopping Brad Richards, Mike Modano and Steve Ott, but Jere Lehtinen finally beat him short-handed. Ott forced a turnover, and Lehtinen ended up with the puck alone in the slot.



His second goal of the season made it 2-1.



It's the first intermission.



Stars 6-1-3 when leading after one period.

Thrashers score on power play

Ilya Kovalchuk scores. He now has seven points in the last five games.



The Stars have killed two of their last six penalties.



1-1 at 6:30 p.m.

Stars score

Loui Eriksson with a tip of a Stephane Robidas shot on the power play.



Stars lead 1-0.



Stars are 10-2-5 when scoring first.



That probably sounds better than it really is.

Your fourth line for tonight...

It appears to be: Toby Petersen-Tom Wandell-Krys Barch



I'm not sure what's up with Brian Sutherby. He appears to be healthy. This is just a coach's decision.



Alex Auld vs. Ondrej Pavelec



The building is brimming with electricity...



Oh, by the way, this is a game that Dish has chosen not to telecast.



Good times.

No prediction game today

The blog tool is messed up, so there's no prediction game today.



We probably all need the break.

Daley out tonight

Trevor Daley will miss tonight with an injured left shoulder.



They probably won't know how serious it is until he gets home and gets and MRI.



Jeff Woywitka is in.



Alex Auld in net.

Observations from a 5-3 loss

Hey guys, I've read a lot of your comments, and I sympathize.



Here is how I see this one. Marty Turco wasn't great, but he was clearly not the only problem.



Jussi Jokinen came out like a house on fire, and not one player on the Stars was prepared to match that energy.



Dallas, which is one of the least penalized teams in the NHL, took three penalties in the first period. The Hurricanes, who came in with the 28th best power play, scored on two of them.



That was primarily hustle, mental toughness and momentum for Carolina.



Turco could have stopped the first shot, sure, but Stephane Robidas could have played Jokinen better at the blueline. He's seen Jokinen run that same play 100 times in practice, and probably should have known it was coming.



There were other breakdowns, as well.



Bottom line, it's always something new with this team. It's a late meltdown, it's a bad start. It's a bad night on faceoffs. It's a bad night with turnovers. It's a bad night in net.



Brenden Morrow was frustrated.



``It's one step forward and one step back,'' Morrow said. ``Tomorrow, we'll probably come out as a different team. It's frustrating.''



He said that while he looks at the standings and sees 9 losses (in regulation), it feels a lot more like 19 (including the OT/SO losses).



Mike Ribeiro was mad. He referenced the fact the team has won just one time in regulation in the last 10 games (3-3-4).



``I don't know the last time we won in 60 minutes,'' said center Mike Ribeiro. ``We have to be better than this, we have to play good for 60 minutes. We'll play 40 great or 50 great, but we can't do it for 60. Something has to change now if we want to make the playoffs.''



I was told that Marc Crawford was pretty mad after the loss, and I have also been told that he has been knuckling down on players in private, but he continues to keep his cool when asked questions. I asked if the slow starts were a trend that worried him, and he said no.



``I think we've played pretty well (at the start) in the rest of our games, so I'm not too concerned about it,'' he said.



He pointed out defensive deficiencies at the center position as a concern in the game, but he said he liked the fact the team fought back and got within a goal.



You want more fire from him, I know, but he's just in a calm place right now. It could have actually served him well on Wednesday had the puck not bounced in off Loui Eriksson in the third period.



I'm sure they'll go and beat the Thrashers Thursday, and then they will have lived to fight another day. And there is something to be said for that, I guess.



As for the calls for trades and firings, that just isn't going to happen. It's tough to make trades right now, and Joe Nieuwendyk will probably not make a trade to ``save the season.'' He's also not going to fire anybody three months into the season.



He's watching, and he's talking to other GMs, so he knows what's going on. But he also has to make trades that will help this team for the long-term. One of the problems Nieuwendyk is battling is that if he brings someone in, he has to move someone out. None of the six regular defensemen can go to the minors. Only Jamie Benn and Tom Wandell can go through waivers among the forwards. That means if somebody comes in, somebody will have to go out in a trade.



I know you guys have ideas who that should be, but it's not as easy as you think.



It's maddening, and I'm not a fan of writing about it, but it's what we have this season.



Trevor Daley hurt his shoulder (it appears to be his left) on a hit from Tuomo Ruutu. He was on the bus after the game, so I didn't get to talk to him. Crawford said they will re-evaluate Thursday, but he didn't seem overly concerned that this would be a long-term thing.



We'll see what happens Thursday. The Stars have six of seven at home after that, and that might be a very crucial stretch in figuring this thing out (how many times am I going to say that in a season).

Stars lose, 5-3

Ruutu with hat trick on empty-netter



That is your game.



So went wrong?



No energy early?



Bad goaltending?



San ol', same ol'?



Stars are 3-3-4 in the last 10 games. That is their ninth regulation loss. It is Carolina's eighth regulation win.

Eriksson scores with Turco pulled.

1:04 left.



Long rebound from Modano shot.



It's 4-3

Canes go up 4-2

Ruutu backhands a blind pass into the slot and Eriksson accidentally kicks it into the goal.



Eriksson is not having a good night.



4-2 Canes

Daley out _ upper body

It looks like he got hurt on a hit in the corner from Ruutu.



Looks like it could be his left shoulder.



He won't return this game.

Morrow scores, it's 3-2

Stars get a power play and get several chances.



Brenden Morrow slaps in a rebound of a Mike Ribeiro shot.



It is 3-2.



Can you say hmmmmmmmmmm (with you pinky to your mouth like Dr. Evil)?

Make it 2-0

Tuomo Ruutu does a spinning backhand that somehow gets past Marty Turco.



It's 2-0 Hurricanes at 6:32 of the first.

Oh say can Jussi?

Jokinen busts in on the power play on the patented pass at the blueline he used to get from Zubov. He splits the defense and wrists a shot off of Turco's glove for a 1-0 lead at 4:48 of the first.



1-0 Hurricanes

Barch, Brunnstrom in

Your fourth line is:



Barch-Wandell-Brunnstrom



You other lines are the same:



Neal-Richards-Eriksson

Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn

Ott-Modano-Lehtinen

Monday practice updates

Mark Fistric was back on the ice and looked good.



Marc Crawford had him on the fourth pair (usually with a forward) and had Jeff Woywitka still paired with Matt Niskanen, but my guess is Fistric will get back in on Wednesday against Carolina. That said, Crawford said he did like Woywitka's game against LA in place of Fistric on Saturday.



Fistric, who had to go the hospital briefly on Saturday after getting a parasite in his stomach, said he has been on antibiotics and feels a lot better. He said he lost six pounds and still hasn't eaten much, but he feels stronger.



Crawford said he would start Marty Turco on Wednesday against Carolina, and that he is undecided on what he will do Thursday at Atlanta. He said he felt the schedule up until Christmas is pretty manageable for Turco.



Lines were the same, basically, although the fourth line is always a question.



Neal-Richards-Eriksson

Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn

Ott-Modano-Lehtinen

(Sutherby)Barch-Wandell-Brunnstrom(Petersen)



Practice tomorrow in Frisco.

LA _ Kopitar, tries five-hold,

LA _ Kopitar, tries five-hold, stopped

DS _ Richards, wrister, pad save

LA _ Johnson, Lost puck, no shot

DS _ Neal, glove save

LA _ Brown, glove save

DS _ Niskanen, glove

LA _ Handzus, backhand, good.

DS _ Ribeiro, poke check, stopped



This will be an interesting controversy.



Quick poked the puck off of Ribeiro's skate and into the net, and they are saying that constitutes a rebound, which is not allowed.



Hmmmm?



Stars lost 3-2 in shootout

We have overtime

And 3-on-3 overtime.



Matt Greene with a crosscheck. James Neal with a dive. Should be interesting.

Ouch, Kings score with 7.5 seconds left

In the second period.



Anze Kopitar tipped a rebound just out of the reach of Stephane Robidas and then just roofed a beautiful shot over Alex Auld with 7.5 seconds left in the period to tie the game 2-2.



We'll see if this changes momentum or if the Stars come out on fire.

Modano scores to make 2-1

That was the perfect way for Jere Lehtinen to get his 500th career point.



He came in hard on the forecheck, literally just took the puck away from Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, went behind the net and fed Modano in the slot for a one-timer.



It was reminiscent of how Hull scored goal No. 600.



Stars up 2-1

Kings tie it, 1-1

Justin Williams blocks a Karlis Skrastins slap shot at the point, and the puck goes straight into the neutral zone to start a 2-on-1.



Williams feeds Alexander Frolov for a one-timer.



It's 1-1

stars quick take

QUICK_SHOOTOUT

Stars quick take for Sunday sports



The shootout has been nothing but problems for the Stars this season, so setting a franchise record for longest shootout in a 3-2 victory against San Jose Friday was unexpected.

But Marty Turco allowed just one goal in 11 rounds (topping the Stars previous long of nine rounds), and Matt Niskanen scored on his first ever shootout attempt, and the Stars won for only the second time this season in eight shootout games. The problems clearly aren't solved, as Dallas shooters are now 6-for-35 on the season, but Niskanen could serve as a great example for his teammates.

While Dallas shooters repeatedly tried to beat Evgeni Nabokov between the pads, Niskanen watched, learned and flipped a wrister in over the glove from a safe distance.

Ironically, the Sharks were the victim of numerous poke checks from Turco and never seemed to learn.

"If you're on the bench and watching him, you should figure it out eventually," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "It's disappointing."

Not for the Stars, of course, who needed the win to validate a strong performance overall.

``It's a big deal for us to come out with two points,'' Turco said. ``We felt we've deserved it in other games, so we needed to get it in this one.''



END

Stars up at 1:22

Good start for Dallas.



Brad Richards makes an impressive pass off the half wall through a maze of bodies and sticks, and James Neal tips it in on the doorstep.



1-0 Dallas

Marc Fistric out tonight

He had some kind of parasite and actually had to go the hospital last night after the team landed in Los Angeles.



He's fine now, according to coach Marc Crawford, but he's just drained from the experience.



Jeff Woywitka will jump in.



Brian Sutherby also will play. Not sure who will sit.



Sutherby has played just once in the last 13 games (Nov. 30 against Detroit).

Alex Auld expected in goal tonight

He has started just once in the last 11 games, but he has won his last two starts (his huge 3-1 win in Detroit Nov. 18 with 31 saves and a 4-3 OT win against Tampa Bay Nov. 28).



Marc Crawford said Mike Modano was sat down for much of the third period and overtime (he played 1:24) not because he was playing poorly, but because Tom Wandell and Steve Ott were playing so well. Ott played 8:04 in the third period and OT, while Wandell played 6:18. Modano played 9:15 in the first two periods, but Crawford was worried about the match-up against Joe Thornton.



We'll see what happens with the fourth line tonight. I think he's pondering adding some fresh legs.

Stars win 3-2 (SO)

It took 11 rounds, but they won it, 3-2.



Matt Niskanen with the winner. Marty Turco stopped 10 of 11.



So was that a big recovery for Turco from the Blake shot?

Richards scores to tie game

Dallas controlled play for about 30 minutes and finally broke through.



Brad Richards made a nice play to lift a puck over Nabokov who was trying to fight through James Neal to come out can challenge the shot.



2-2

Nice second period for the Stars

They came back hard, earned three power plays and out-shot the Sharks, 16-6.



But they could not get a puck into the net.



Evgeni Nabokov was fantastic and the score is 2-1 Sharks after two periods.



Stars start third with 1:08 of power play time.

Sharks take 2-1 lead

Rob Blake with a huge shot from the right point that goes right through Turco's pads.



It was a very soft goal with 3:09 left in the period, and that one could change this game.



2-1 San Jose

Sharks tie it, 1-1

That line is a handful. Great cycle by Heatley-Thornton-Marleau. Skrastins got caught in no man's land between Thornton and Heatley, and Thornton made a perfect pass from off the end boards to Heatley, who whipped in his 20th goal of the season.



1-1

Stars up 1-0 on power play

Mike Ribeiro with a tap-in off a beautiful pass from Trevor Daley to score on the power play.



The Stars needed that.



They had 57 seconds of 4-on-3 followed by 58 seconds of 5-on-3, and they scored on neither, but Brenden Morrow brought some real urgency to the final PP shift, and he and Loui Eriksson won a couple of puck battles to set up the pass for Daley.



1-0 Stars

Looks like Petersen is in tonight

Sutherby is not out for the pregame skate.



Fourth line will probably be: Petersen-Wandell-Brunnstrom



Turco in goal for Dallas. Nabokov for San Jose.



They really do hate the Stars here. They had old Eddie Belfour footage they were running for their pregame montage.

Thursday practice update

Nothing really big today.



Stars practiced at Sharks Ice because Larry the Cable Guy has the HP Pavilion tonight.



Karlis Skrastins was back in, and lines looked like this:



Neal-Richards-Eriksson

Morrow-Ribeiro-Benn

Ott-Modano-Lehtinen

Sutherby-Wandell-Brunnstrom



Grossman-Robidas

Skrastins-Daley

Fistric-Niskanen



Marty Turco is expected to be in goal Friday against the Sharks.



Sutherby got the majority of time on the fourth line in practice. Coach Marc Crawford said Sutherby still is bothered by the groin injury, so that he'll make his decision on the fourth line on Friday.



Other than that, it was really pretty uneventful.



Best line came from Trevor Daley when I told him I was writing about the return of Karlis Skrastins and said the story was about how he was the greatest human ever, Daley responded with: ``Well, he's in my top five.''



I guess you had to be there.

Brahmas, Americans to have vintage series

Being an old codger, I love throwback stuff, so it's exciting to hear the Allen Americans and Texas Brahmas are having a North Texas Vintage Game Series.



The two teams made an announcement today. Here's the press release:



The Texas Brahmas and Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League (CHL) announced Wednesday the introduction of their new "North Texas Vintage Game Series" in remembrance of the Metroplex's early hockey rivalries.



The two game series will feature the Texas Brahmas as the Fort Worth Wings and the Allen Americans as the Dallas Blackhawks. Both teams will be donning commemorative throwback jerseys representing their historic predecessor and will later auction off the sweaters to the fans.



In efforts to salvage the memories of the 'good old days', the city rivalry that has now morphed into a suburbia battle, will continue following a 28 year hiatus beginning with game one in Allen Saturday, December 26 at the Allen Event Center at 7:30 PM. The second game in the "North Texas Vintage Game Series" will take place at the NYTEX Sports Centre in North Richland Hills on Friday, January 8 at 7:05 PM.



A rich history of hockey has been played between Fort Worth and Dallas since 1941 stemming with the epic rivalry of the Fort Worth Rangers and Dallas Texans. In 1967 the Fort Worth Wings, an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, played their inaugural season at the Will Rogers Coliseum in downtown Fort Worth. The same season, the Blackhawks relocated to Dallas to the State Fair Coliseum from St. Louis, birthing a newfo und intense rivalry in the heart of North Texas. With the addition of the Allen Americans to the CHL for the 2009-10 season, the classic cross-town rivalry returns to North Texas.



Throughout the years a deep hatred between the CHL Fort Worth and Dallas clubs was developed, as were many tales, including stories involving bench clearing brawls on the ice and riots in the stands. This year, the Brahmas and Americans organizations promise memorable evenings with throwback concession prices, special game programs and most notably, the return of a few key players from the storied rivalry. The teams will also be selling replica jerseys of the first annual North Texas Vintage Game Series; each organization will be selling their own sweaters.



Immediately following the final game in the series on January 8th fans will be able to own a piece of history when the Brahmas host a live game worn Fort Worth Wings jersey auction at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The Allen Americans will place their game worn Dallas Blackhawks jerseys in a silent jersey auction after the conclusion of the series.

Stars send Vishnevskiy back

It was a nice little bone to throw his way, and I don't think he did anything to show he can't play in the NHL.



I guess the question is can he play in the NHL with this group of young defensemen or do some moves need to be made to make space for him?



Here's the release:



Frisco, Tex. - The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has assigned defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy to the Texas Stars - Dallas' primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).



Vishnevskiy, 21, was recalled from Texas on December 7 and appeared in Tuesday's game at Anaheim, going scoreless. He has played in 27 games for Texas, collecting four goals and six assists for 10 points this season. Vishnevskiy appeared in three games for Dallas in 2008-09, recording two assists. The Barnaul, Russia native, spent most of last season with Peoria Rivermen of the AHL, where he played in 67 games, tallying 19 points (6g, 13a). He was drafted in the first round (27th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by Dallas.



Texas will host the Peoria Rivermen tonight at Cedar Park Center and the Rockford IceHogs for a two-game set this weekend.

Stars lose in OT

Saku Koivu chips in a rebound.



I'm at a loss. They can't even wait until the next game to be inconsistent.



4-3 OT Loss.



You guys have the floor.

3-3 after 3

The kid Sexton gets his second goal of his three-game career and ties it with 1:02 left.



It was a bad goal, but it's hard to blame Turco, who was the only reason Anaheim didn't score six that period.



3-3 headed to OT.

It gets interesting now

Dan Sexton scores the first goal of his NHLcareer.



Saku Koivu forces a turnover, Bobby Ryan drives the net, and Sexton smacks it in.



3-2 at 6:08 of the third.