Remarks from a Rangers fan - after the Stars dramatic loss to Martin Broduer and John Madden

... because really, those are the two guys that owned the game!  After a game like last night it's hard to find anything worth talking about - I think most fans want to take our referee chants (like A rope, a tree, lets hang the referee) and reword them for ... well ... ANYONE on the Stars.

But as I skimmed through the blogs and news articles on the web I found this great one from the perspective of a Rangers fan who wanted to follow the Avery Circus around the New York area:

What resulted was a clinical dissection of Dallas by Jersey's regimented offense in front of maybe, maybe 7,000 fans. The Dallas Stars that beat the Rangers on Monday were nowhere to be found, as were the Devil fans, who stayed away in droves. On the ice, the Marty Turco that was there to stop every Blueshirt break through the Star defense didn't show up. The Turco who made it to Newark pulled himself grossly out of position twice to allow a pair of amateurish goals on his way to being yanked for a Swedish kid who had 110 minutes of NHL time before taking the Rock ice.

To be fair, Scotty Hockey, the blogger responsible for this well-written description of our boys' (yes, last night they were truly boys) foul attempt to play AHL level hockey, was as mean to the Devils as he was to the Stars; the difference was it seemed his hatred towards the Devils was of a rivalry, and his distasteful words for the Stars were purely driven by their untoward play.

They looked so awkward on the ice last night that each and every one of the contracts should be nullified.  In fact, I have a new way to pay them - purely based on their performance each game:

• Their first goal of the game, a player earns $10,000.  Each goal there-after earns double the previous payment, thus, goal 2 is worth $20,000, goal 3 is worth $40,000 and goal 5 would then be worth $160,000.
• First Assists are worth 25% of that goal's value, second Assists are worth 50% of that.  However, this amount comes out of the player's check who scores the goal.  Thus, the player who scores his 5th goal in a game must pay $40,000 to whomever got the First Assist and $20,000 for the Second Assist.  This still earns the goal scorer $100,000 for that goal; nevermind how much they earned for their first 4.
• Hits would also be worth something, lets say $500 to start, thereafter they can grow exponentially as well.

Goalies are a bit more difficult, they don't make hits, usually don't make assists, and almost never make goals.  Goalies could get paid by ...

• The saves.  Let's say a goalie blocks 30 shots in a game: $1,500 per blocked shot would earn them $45,000 for that game (which, by the way, is worth $3.7mil per year).
• Not all saves are equal though - lets say a save based on a turnover which gives the offense a 2-on-1 advantage: $1,750; 3-on-1 $2,000.  Penalty shot?  $3,000 - and the extra $1,500 comes from the player who is serving the penalty!

This is BY NO MEANS an exact or fully-thought out system, but something like this is SURE to force players to work smarter, not harder; not only that but it will force players who play as abysmal as our boys did last night leave the league if they can't begin to perform - for it's those players who would be paying the other players' salaries.

Do I think this would actually work?  Not likely, but it's something to think about.  Do I want this to happen to the Stars?  No, but I'm at a loss what else could make them pull their heads out of those cavities they've found themselves in and begin playing like the skilled TEAM that they truly are.

Scotty Hockey, thanks for the inspiration to write this column today.  I really wasn't in the mood but the minute I read your post I became filled with such rage at my boys that the above filth just started pouring out.

Hey Stars, how about tonight against the Islanders you actually show up, as the proud NHL players that you are, and just ENJOY yourselves.  We go through this every season - you forget to ENJOY hockey and you go on a skid.  Last March, you forgot, but the minute you remembered you actually made it to the Western Conference Finals.  This October you've forgotten, and now you're risking your chances of ... well ... they say you can't make the playoffs in October, but you can sure make it difficult to do so if you keep this up.

Slumping, but is it really that bad?

A lot of speculation will continue to sprout up around the Stars with their current lack of ability to play 60 minutes, however, Scott Burnside has some interesting thoughts about it:

As bad as the Dallas Stars have been lately, it might actually help them. After sitting atop the Pacific Division and closing in on Detroit for the Western Conference lead, the Stars have lost four in a row and are 1-7-0 in their last eight. The team doesn't play again until Thursday, but are fifth in the conference, just one point ahead of Calgary. The problem for the Stars and Flames, and even Vancouver, is that finishing fifth almost certainly means a first-round date with defending Cup-champion Anaheim. That's not a good thing. Let's be honest -- finishing sixth and playing the winner of the Northwest Division, whether it's Minnesota or Calgary or Vancouver, is a much more palatable matchup.

His full article is actually about Coaches who need to take another look at their resumes, and yes, he does include Tippett, but only barely at the end:

Another highly regarded bench boss who needs a strong playoffs to ensure continued employment is Dave Tippett in Dallas. If the Stars falter, Tippett will move to the top of almost everyone's wish list.

I appreciate that Burnside only barely touches Tippet in this article, a lot of fans will call for his head, but have you seen what he's been doing to try to turn things around for this team? Easter Sunday was an off day for the Stars, but he had them on the ice working so hard that, Hagman tossed up his Easter breakfast and Robidas was slumped over at the end of practice (thanks Heika for those visuals).

For those calling on Tippett's head, maybe you're right. Maybe he just can't get these guys properly inspired for the long haul. Or maybe, with his first season not under Armstrong, and with a team who took a huge mental hit losing Mike Smith, Jeff Halpern and Jussi Jokinen, he needs a fresh start to the season.

I like Tippett, in fact, I'd call myself a Tippett fan and supporter (no, not like a bra, get your mind out of the gutter); but I hope he can turn things around so Hull, Jackson and ultimately Hicks, don't have to make a tough decision.

I'm pullin' for ya Stars, you can do it ... we know you can.

--The Wall

PS - Sorry for the lack of podcasts the past month. Scott and I have been incredibly busy and just can't seem to meet up. I promise, you'll get to hear our sexy voices once again soon ... well, soon-ish.

Sens Fever

To Hook or Not To Hook: Should Chris Chelios ever find himself in need of an industry change, he should get into retail. Did you see him sell that hook with two and a half minutes left in Game 6? It resulted in a much-needed power play for Detroit in their attempt to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

I’ll start with this: What an exciting final 10 minutes of Game 6! Both teams were physical; both teams knew exactly what was on the line. The fans were awesome - chanting “LETS GO DUCKS” and waving their orange rally towels. Even the play-by-play announcers…the final 2 minutes it sounded like I was watching horse racing, not hockey (if you’ve ever actually watched the 90 seconds that is a horse race, which you may have taken the time to watch this past Saturday, since hockey got turned off, you’ll know what I mean). What an exciting end to the Conference Finals!

So where does that leave us? Anaheim Ducks vs Ottawa Senators.

Ducks
What can I say? I’ve seen this team 8 times against my Stars, in fact, the Ducks almost lost their #1 seed in the division to both Dallas and San Jose; but they didn’t. They’re a strong team led by an amazing goalie, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Speaking of their goalie, wow! Watching him all season long you knew that he was going to be someone to watch, but he has really blossomed through the post season, showing that he can take the pressure of the game, and the pressure of family life. The Ducks won’t go quietly, but they will go.

Sens
The Senators are killer this post season. They are the best they’ve ever been. They’re goalie is the best he’s ever been. Their fans are louder than ever. I … I don’t know what else is worth saying. These guys are the shit … they are going to bring the cup to Canada, they are going to win it for the first time - ever. Heck, I’m so excited watching them this post season that I think I might have Sens Fever.

Round 3, FIGHT!

26 teams down, 3 to go. The 2^nd round of this years playoffs was an exciting non-stop race and, not to talk in clichés but the best teams did in fact win.

Red Wings v Sharks
Hockey Town USA has had a hard time selling out their games, but that hasn’t slowed down their game. Coming into this series many people expected to see the Sharks come out on top, and why not? They’re a strong, young team whose drive can’t be beat … but experience won out in this series and Round 2 went to Detroit … maybe next year Shark Tank, maybe next year.

Ducks v Canucks
It’s not that I’m happy the ‘nucks didn’t make round two, I don’t hold a grudge against them for taking out my Stars in 8 games in Round 1, really, I don’t. It’s just they were nowhere near the stronger team going into Round 2. Vancouver is one of the best teams I’ve ever seen at adapting to new situations and play styles, but just like we can say about Dallas in Round 1, you can’t expect your goalie to win every game for you. And not for nothing, this Ducks team is amazing.

Sabres v Rangers
My heart sat in Maddison Square Garden this series, and after a rough opening 2 games I had given up, but when the Rangers brought it home, they brought out the big guns. Goalkeeping was strong in both Miller, and one of my favorite goalies Henrik Lundqvist. Leadership was strong in both Jagr and Drury (who went to high school in my home town, by the way). I was incredibly proud of the Rangers, they were amazing in Round 1, and they didn’t give up in Round 2 fighting to tie it at 2-2 before losing, but the Sabres were strong all season. I’ve said it before, these guys played the ENTIRE SEASON to win it all, and they just might (maybe).

Devils v Senators
This one was an easy call for me. Martin Broduer is one of the best goaltenders the NHL has ever seen, but you can not rely on your goaltender like that: played 78 games, totaled over 4600 minutes averaging OVER 60 minutes per game. Not only that but you can NOT take away the man that brought your team to the playoffs with three games left in the regular season. And lets not discount a Senators team that is playing the best they’ve played all season who have a goalie (I’m sensing a theme) who is playing his top game. Maybe around the All-Star break I’d have given more props to the Devils for this series, but in my opinion they didn’t have a chance – heck, I was surprised they beat the Lightning!

So where does that leave us? That’s right, Conference Finals are here - and in no way are these games easy to pick.

Red Wings v Ducks
My favorite in this series is the Ducks, but let me reiterate how hard it is to make these decisions. Maybe I’m just upset that the Hockey Town USA isn’t pulling its weight in ticket sales, maybe I just want to see the Pacific Division make the playoffs – but watch for a long, fast paced, high shooting series, and expect the goalie who can keep his cool the longest to win.

Sabres v Senators
I feel like I’m cheating and I think I’ve flip-flopped on this decision as many times as most of the senators in the House of Representatives on the War in Iraq, but here’s my call and I’ll stick with it through the end of the series. The Sabres will lose; the Senators will make the Stanley Cup Finals. Yeah, that’s right – they already won a spectacular Game 1, 5 to 2 (honestly beating Miller 4 times) and it’s going to continue. Don’t get me wrong, this will be a dog fight; after this game the Sabres will come back swinging, but in the end we will see one Canadian team in the finals.

I bet you want to know my picks for the Cup, don’t you? Too bad, that’s for me to know, I’ll share it with you in a couple weeks.

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!!!

Getting our butts kicked never felt so good!

Come on guys, do you really feel like throwing the towel in now? We haven't been beat by four regulation goals like we did on Sunday since the beginning of January. We were due. We played bad but not that bad. Heck, we peppered the post at least two if not three times and the saves Nabokov made were phenomenal. You know as well as I do that when we play against the Sharks and Nabokov is on his game, he is almost impossible to score on. The Sharks were coming off a four game loosing streak and needed a change of pace.

The whole series against the Sharks this year went 5-3 our way. We have consistently gained points on the majority of the Pacific Division teams this season which builds confidence when and if we see them in the playoffs. Would we have liked to take that last game? Yes. Did it kill us that we lost? No. Are we in a loosing slump? Absolutely not. We have three days to regroup and take it to St. Louis and Columbus who have both beat us in the past meetings. So we are eight points away from Anaheim however, we have two games in hand and two games against them so it is well within reach. Just focus on the "soft" upcoming schedule and play solid hockey while the Ducks and Sharks keep on their shaky track! March Madness baby!!

Shall We Dance?

With the race to the playoffs heating up and as we head into the busiest month of the season for the Stars playing 16 games, 7 at home and 9 on the road, I am glad the Stars are where they are right now. Sitting with 79 points we are only 5 behind Anaheim for the Pacific Division title, 11 behind from being the Western Conference champs and 13 ahead of being knocked out of a playoff spot. We have one game against the Sharks and two games against the Ducks to gain even more ground towards that Pacific Division title.

As far as the ground to make up for the Western Conference title, that is going to be a much harder battle. We play Nashville twice and Detroit once and besides the Ducks we don’t have another team to gain on when it comes to points. So what can we do? For starters, we can score more than one goal in regulation and not wait till the third period to do it! The type of play in the past two games is not going to cut it when we play the top teams in the conference. Play consistent hockey and we will consistently be at the top.

Now, as for the dancing, since there is a nice 10 point cushion between the 8th seed and the 9th seed in the West, there will be a lot of “dancing” between playoff spots between now and the end of the season. Vancouver, Calgary, and Minnesota are all separated by one point and San Jose is very close to falling into 7th or 8th after the Stars passed them up earlier this week for 5th. Granted Dallas could easily fall as well if they were to slip into a loosing slump like the Flames did and the Sharks are doing, however we are no longer suffering from long term injuries (besides Morrow) and have plenty in Iowa just itching to contribute to our success.

-Scooter

Why 6th place is not so bad!

Okay, call me crazy but I think 6th place is the best place to be. Sure, I would love for the Stars to win our division and the conference, heck I would love them to be the best team in the NHL, but with this team this year, 6th place is fine with me. We probably won't be able to catch Anaheim even though we play them three more times and San Jose continues to win plus we only play them once more. But looking at the standings today, we are in better position going into the playoffs facing any of the three possible Northwest division teams being Vancouver, Minnesota or Calgary then we would be facing Detroit or Nashville. If we faced the Sharks in the first round, I would feel comfortable that we could handle them without a problem. Anaheim would just be a long hard series. So, save it for the second round and let the Northwest division bottom two seeds knock out or knock up the top two seeds in the conference (as long as it is not us) and give us a greater advantage in round two!
-Scooter