Not a time to lament the past

it's time for the 'couver fans to gloat. They deserved that win, and we didn't. There were plenty of bad calls against us, heck there were even some bad calls against the Nucks, but the biggest thing is our boys didn't come to this game with the same intensity that they brought to the previous two :(

On the other hand, we saw fairly solid leadership out of Morrow, amazing goal tending out of Turco, and even a strong push by the big E in the post season ... so there is hope for next year.

The question now is who do we let go of this summer. Were Nagy & Nordstrom all they were expected? I'll say I was happy with Nagy's integration before post season, but during post season he and Matty (excepting much of Matty's play last night) were no more than a weak link on the team during this series. What about Anti, Robi, and some of the juniors down in Iowa? I think it will be a very interesting summer, to say the least.

Luckily we have a strong enough set of veteran leadership up top to keep whatever rotation we have over the summer in check come next season.

I'll hold my head up high as a Stars fan though ... When we were down 3 to 1 we had the strongest goalie of the round across all 16 teams, we had a team with more heart and determination than any other, and we fought our way back to Game 7. I say GO STARS GO ... 07/08 is only 5 months away.

178:05 minutes of heaven - 1 second of heart break

Mud Bruneteau, Ken Doraty, Keith Primeu, Petr Sykora, Petr Nedved ... what do these 5 people have in common with Henrik Sedin? They all broke thosands of hearts in one simple flick of the wrist - these 6 people are the game winning goal scorers for the longest 6 Stanley Cup playoff games, ever.

Last night Dallas showed just how badly they want this series, last night they fought harder then I've ever seen them fight. In a 3rd period come back with goals by Miettinen (assisted by Hagman & Jokinen) and Nagy (assisted by Miettinnen and Zubov) the Stars just would not give up; the problem was neither would the Canucks.

The anti-Turco crowd will complain that the Stars outplayed, outshot and outlasted the Canucks, that Turco screwed the pooch on this one. They will say if he had done his job we'd have won, and you know they have something of a point, but don't get me wrong, I don't blame him for this loss - the team didn't do what was needed, as a whole. Shots on goal don't mean anything when they're at the chest of the goalie, offensive time on ice don't mean anything when you miss opportunities, and blocked shots don't mean anything when rebounds aren't properly taken care of.

If I did have to blame this on any single thing (besides the ever-so-easy-to-blame Sedin twins, of course) I'd say it was our power play. Twice we had 5 on 3 opportunities, 5 additional times we had 5 on 4 opportunities great than a full minute (only 1 of which w scored on). The Stars have got to figure out how to score more on these opportunities.

But in all seriousness, I've talked to people whose hearts were broken last night, and I agree to a point, it was heartbreaking watching the Stars play almost 140 minutes of hockey to lose, however that wasn't the real overall effect on me. After last nights game I'd do anything to watch Friday's game now - anything for it to be Sunday night to see game 3, Tuesday night for game 4 ... I'm more excited after last nights loss then I think I would have been after a 3 period win. The stars fought hard last night, and showed me that they are serious about this post-season.

I say GO STARS - I say rest up tonight because Friday night is going to be a long ride - If you're in town make sure you come out to Frankie's to watch the game with all the other local fans - and I say BRING IT ON CANUCKS! Worry not Stars Fans, our boys will do it!!!

NHL Ads, New Players and what goalie controversy?

I haven't had time the past 3 weeks to really post as much as I've wanted to. I've had plenty of ideas, but the job that pays the bills has had me too busy to actually make the posts. So here I am with a quick summary of what's been going on in my mind.

NHL Ads
This year the NHL has been pushing their "Just like you, and really good at hockey" campaign. In their troubles they've really come up with some comical ads - here's a couple of the recent ones that have made me laugh (one even includes Marty):

New Player(s)
I say this in the plural form because between contract extensions, injuries & actual new players the team seems to be growing. First and foremost, we obviously have a few guys off injury, namely Modano, making a difference. Second we got a great contract extension, 2 years worth $2m for Mike Smith. Smitty has been great when he's played this year, and now that he's healthy again as well we'll be seeing more of him. I'm glad to see next year we go into the season knowing who our goalies are. Lastly, and certainly not least, we had a trade.

Tippett and Hicks showed their hands early this year, as they have done in the past, and made a trade for the Playoffs ... Mathias Tjarnqvist has played well in the few games he was up in Dallas and shown that he's going to be a worthy player in the NHL. However, it won't be for us. Tjarnqvist was traded to division foe Phoenix for an offensive player who, on his new line with Modano & Lehtinen, is sure to help us get more goals ... and seeing Dallas Sunday with 7 goals? Yeah, I have confidence in the playoffs this year. For those of you concerned, this was the right move for Tjarnqvist too. I don't think he had his heart set to be in Dallas, so I don't think there is any love lost, and in Phoenix he has the chance to become one of the stars on a (going to be) young and growing team. As for the concerns over Nagy, and there are many of them, I say screw it. He has the history of being a +20 goal scorer twice in his career, and with the right team can be again. Jere & Mo are a great combination, and with another goal scorer by their side this line is going to be very dangerous.

Goalie controversy
Bugger off. This is a media story, and only a media story. Marty has a history with this team of being a strong player ... one of the best honestly. He just played 23 straight games before Smitty rescued him in 2 of these last 3 games (some would argue he rescued him in all 3). 23 straight games of 80 to 100 mile an hour pucks flying at his head. We're lucky he took it as well as he did. Yes, Smith has a LOT of promise, but he's still a rookie. He will be here until Marty retires, and then he'll be here after that. This isn't about who is the starter, as Tippett has said, if the playoffs started today against Detroit Turco would be in goal. So big media, stop pestering our boys with your headline news that means nothing. Let them concentrate on playing the game. Cover them, but don't pester them. Goalie controversy ... bah!