THN Looks at Pacific Division

Last week Adam Proteau of The Hockey News looked at the Pacific Division and made some interesting choices. It's hard to see him place MY Stars 4th in the division, but it's hard to make preseason rankings too.

As expected the Ducks & Sharks are listed as 1 & 2 respectively, and the 'yotes are in 5th place, what may (or may not) suprise some of you is he ranked the Kings as 3rd with playoff hopes and the stars as 4th without.

Really thinking about it though, The Kings & Sharks made decent moves to show hockey prognosticators that they mean business this year, and the Stars did not. However, I don't agree with the suggestion that the Stars aren't already set up for a stellar year. I said it over and over, Scott said it time and again, and we're here to tell you again, our biggest problem with scoring was injuries. We have the very same roster that started the season with the Stars' best season start to date - and as long as Modano doesn't pull his groin and Morrow doesn't put his wrist under another skate ... we're set for another great opening stretch.

Yes, some of our biggest rivals look to have made some very serious moves in the off season, but so did we: we got healthy. Check out the article, what do you think? Are you putting the stars out of playoff contention this year? Do you think the Ducks are going to get 2 straight division titles? Let us know before the next cast and we'll include your thoughts in the show!

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.

Ding Ding Ding...Round 2

Since nobody asked us when to begin round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I thought I would let you know that they start tonight - April 25th. Here are the schedules and just because the Stars aren't playing doesn't mean you have to stop watching hockey. Yes I know, it is painful to not be watching our home team, but please do root for the next best team, whomever it may be.

Eastern Conference

#1 Buffalo Sabres vs #6 NY Rangers
GM 1: Wed. April 25 at Buffalo
GM 2: Fri. April 27 at Buffalo
GM 3: Sun. April 29 at New York
GM 4: Tue. May 1 at New York
GM 5: Fri. May 4 at Buffalo *
GM 6: Sun. May 6 at New York *
GM 7: Tue. May 8 at Buffalo *
* If necessary

#2 NJ Devils vs #4 Ottawa Senators
GM 1: Thu. April 26 at New Jersey
GM 2: Sat. April 28 at New Jersey
GM 3: Mon. April 30 at Ottawa
GM 4: Wed. May 2 at Ottawa
GM 5: Sat. May 5 at New Jersey *
GM 6: Mon. May 7 at Ottawa *
GM 7: Wed. May 9 at New Jersey *
* If necessary


Western Conference

#1 Detroit Red Wings vs #5 San Jose Sharks
GM 1: Thu. April 26 at Detroit
GM 2: Sat. April 28 at Detroit
GM 3: Mon. April 30 at San Jose
GM 4: Wed. May 2 at San Jose
GM 5: Sat. May 5 at Detroit *
GM 6: Mon. May 7 at San Jose *
GM 7: Wed. May 9 at Detroit *
* If necessary

#2 Anaheim Ducks vs #3 Vancouver Canucks
GM 1: Wed. April 25 at Anaheim
GM 2: Fri. April 27 at Anaheim
GM 3: Sun. April 29 at Vancouver
GM 4: Tue. May 1 at Vancouver
GM 5: Thu. May 3 at Anaheim *
GM 6: Sun. May 6 at Vancouver *
GM 7: Tue. May 8 at Anaheim *
* If necessary


Good luck to the remaining 8 team still alive. Be sure to check out Episode 34 which will be released Monday, April 30th to hear our picks for the Conference Championships.

-Scooter
http://dallasstarspodcast.com/

People who Whine - when they get caught cheating

Last night was the first time, at least that I've seen, that someone got busted cheating on the newest of NHL rules.

Rule 10.1 - The Player's Stick

... No stick shall exceed sixty-three inches (63") in length from the heel to the end of the shaft nor more than twelve and one-half inches (12.5") from hell to the end of the blade ... The blade of the stick shall not be more than three inches (3") in width at any point nor less than two inches (2"). All edges of the blade shall be beveled. The curvature of the blade shall be restricted in such a way that the distance of a perpndicular line measured from a straight line drawn from any point at the heel to the end of the blade to the point of maximum curvature shall not exceed three-quarters of an inch (3/4") ...

I know, it confused me reading it the first time too. Basically, the rule says the stick must be within certain size restrictions, don't cheat 'cause if you get caught ... oh ... here:

Rule 10.5 - Stick Measurement

... A player whose stick has been measured and i foun not to onform to the provisions of this rule shall be assessed a minor penalty and a fine of two hundred dollars ($200) ...

There is more to it, of course, for multi-time offenders, but that's not what's important. What is important here is the fact that in the Official NHL Rule Book it flat out states what is legal and what is not. There is even a caveat that says you can protest this to get something else approved, but you have to do it ahead of time.

Now for where this comes into play. Last night the NHL and it's fans saw Teemu Selanne get busted for using an illegal stick. I can't find the exact measurements of what his stick was, but I'll be honest, that doesn't really matter to me. You see, it's not that he cheated that bothers me ... it's how he reacted.

"The ice is so bad in the NHL, you have to have that because the puck is bouncing all over," said Selanne, who spent a season in San Jose before returning to Anaheim as a free agent two seasons ago. "I'll bet there's a lot of guys that do, but you have to respect the rule. I wasn't very happy about what happened. Obviously, I didn't expect that call. Whether it was classy or not, it was Ron Wilson's decision. He's not my favorite coach anymore."

You see, if this was his HONEST complaint, his HONEST feeling, why is this when he brings it up? Why did he wait until he got caught cheating to bring his complaints into the open? Maybe the ice is that bad in the NHL, maybe this year more than last year the ice is very choppy. Hey, if it is, I want to see a set of petitions by the NHLPA on the desk of Gary "Rarely Does Anything Useful" Bettman to try to get something fixed by next year. But do we? No, all we see is some whiney player complaining that things aren't going his way.

Oh, and he's not your favorite coach anymore, because he called you out for being a priss? Go back to Kindergarten Teemu, where the teacher CARES if you like them. NHL hockey is about playing the game as outlined by the rules, not about being liked, you prissy little cry-baby.

Pacific Division Title Lost?

So are you like a lot of other Stars fans thinking that the Pacific Division Title is lost? Well, let me shed some light in the matter real quick. Bottom line, it's not...and here is why. The Sharks and Ducks play each other on Wednesday. The Sharks need to take that win without overtime. Then, Dallas needs to win against the Blue Jackets and the Ducks. Beating the Ducks will give them two losses on their last 3 games. Now for the Sharks - they need to loose against the Flames and the Canucks to give them their two losses in their final 2 games after their win over the Ducks. And finally, the Stars need to continue their two game winning streak after Columbus and Anaheim and beat Chicago on Sunday. That is the way I see the Stars as the Pacific Division Champs! Something else to ponder, if all the top teams loose the rest of their games for one reason or another, Dallas will win the Presidents Trophy as well...but likely won't happen...but it could!

Past, Present & the Future

So we swept the Kings this year, going to only give up one game to the Coyotes as long as we play our game, three to the Sharks and hopefully no more than three to the Ducks. So after picking up all those points in our own division, why are we only in third place? The answer - it doesn't matter! The Stars are a top team in the NHL and I don't care what people said about them before the season started or what they are saying now about where we are and what chances we have in the playoffs. I know for a fact that the Stars players' mindset is not only making the playoffs but making it through the first round. Do I think they are thinking about where they are at in the standings, absolutely! But more importantly they are thinking about what it is going to take to win the next game more than who their opponent will be in the first round.

So here are my predictions for the eight spots in the West. Not going to touch the East until the final week. Number one will be Nashville. I don't like picking Nashville but I don't want the Dead Wings in first again. Second place will go to the Sharks. They are playing solid hockey night after night and nothing seems to faze them. Third will be held by Vancouver. They have been the strongest team in the Northwest despite the Wild making a late season rush. Fourth will go to the Dead Wings because they aren't strong enough to beat out the Preds but are strong enough to beat out Anaheim. The Ducks will sit in 5th and will beat out the Dead Wings in the first round. Sitting sixth will be Dallas and will take out the Canucks in a long drawn out first round. Seventh will be the Wild and will get beat by the Sharks in the first round. Finally and more surprisingly in eighth will be Colorado. Since they fought so hard to gain a playoff spot, they will continue that run past the first round of the playoffs and defeat the Predators.

That is it, my predictions. Give me your thoughts, arguments, support and your predictions!

Standing Tall

I've been hesitating a post because I kept hoping for good news, and while I have some (interviewed my favorite Ice Girl tonight) it isn't exactly the news I was hoping for. I try to stay away from this phrase, but I think it's fair to say: The Stars are in a slump.

The month of February was a good one. The team went 8-2-1, with some of our best long-term hockey since we opened the season. However, coming out of February has been disastrous. Tippet can't find harmony with the lines, the lines can't find harmony with each other, and the goals our team is barely posting 1.5 goals per game. To top that off our league best lowest goals record has shit the bed dropping 9 points in the last two games to bring us 3 behind the Devils and tied with Detroit, yeah you heard me right, the Red Wings. Just a week ago we had 9 goals on the ladies in red, and now we're holding hands with them.

Now, I'm not pushing the panic button. I still believe if starting Friday at the Blue Jackets we can clean up our passes, target our shots better and actually pepper the net and not the post we can retake the Sharks, who are sub 500 hockey in the last 10, and overtake the Ducks, who are barely pulling ahead with single-point OTLs. But we can ill afford these games where we spend the first two periods watching the other team talley points and then try to come back in the third period. Want to know why we got beat 4-0 on Sunday? Because our previous 3 games had been 100 yard dashes at the end, because we couldn't concentrate, because our passing was inconsistent and because while our hearts are there, our minds are out picking daisies.

We have a contending team, no, we ARE a contending team. I want to see these boys walk out of their locker room tomorrow night, stand proudly on the ice in Columbus and stare down Brain Boucher, Fredrik Norrena & Pascal Leclaire and show them what we're made of, show them (whichever unlucky bastard ends up in the net) what it's like to play against a championship team.

And in honor of this joyous declaration I bring you one of the most classic "tough get going" speeches of all time, you'll recognize this from the 3rd period Jumbotron videos:

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

A Dunk in the Shark Tank

After a rough 45 minutes Dallas finally joined the game with an offensive flurry in the 3rd period of tonights game. While I had a hard time keeping focus when the game started the 3rd I found myself sitting on the edge of my couch, if sitting at all!

Mike Ribeiro worked hard to show Scott and I that we chose the right guy as our Player of the Week with his assist and goal and Boucher made me proud to own his jersey with an AMAZING 3rd period last second (quite literally) goal that looked more like he was trying to hit a fly with a fly swatter then the puck with a stick.

It was great to see Mikey Mo back on in uniform tonight, but I think Tippet made the right move by not putting him on as one of the opening three shooters in the shootout. Scott and I had a few words about that, but Mo's hands were shakey tonight. I think it'll take him a few games to get back to anything close to his former self, but I also think just having him on the ice has got to feel good for our boys.

With that said, the first 2 periods were rough. It seemed like the boys decided "Mike's back, he'll play offense" ... and boy were they wrong. He had to get back, he had to get ice time, to remember the feeling of another player throwing him against the boards. I'm not trying to say bad things about our boy. I'm crazy excited to have him back out there and I think next week he'll be much more agile and his hands will remember the subtle nuances in the wrist flicks etc ... but I'm honest about his performance tonight.

Congratulations Stars, you earned tonights points in that 3rd period and even more, you handed the last team in the league without one, an overtime and shootout loss.

GO STARS GO!