Was it a goal?

No, but it should have been...what do you think?

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Sean Avery, What Do We Do?

Ah, Sean Avery. Hate him if you will, but he certainly keeps things interesting around these parts, doesn't he? The latest development is something he said about Dion Phaneuf's current flame (see what I did there?), Elisha Cuthbert (who also dated Sean Avery, and Mike Komisarek if memory serves me correctly). He made a comment about how guys fall for his "sloppy seconds". This probably wasn't directed totally at Cuthbert and Phaneuf, because I heard that he also dated Rachel Hunter, who is now with Jarret Stoll. Nothing like the gossip mill, huh?


It's absolutely no secret that the Dallas Stars have been sub-par this season. Oh, fine, I won't lie - they've been pretty awful. There are tons of things that fans and the media are blaming this on - among them Sean Avery. So this didn't come at a good time. I feel like if the team were performing well, a lot of fans would just have a laugh at it and move on. But having a member of the team missing, no matter how useless you may think he is, hurts. The Stars have (I think) about fifteen million dollars worth of players sitting on the bench - Brenden Morrow (ACL), Jere Lehtinen (upper body), Joel Lundqvist (shoulder), Steve Ott (hand), Sergei Zubov (undisclosed), and Avery. That's a whole lotta dollas. Sean Avery didn't need to bring another distraction to the team.

Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News disagrees with the suspension, saying that Bettman should have just let Phaneuf pound the snot out of Avery - and I agree. In 2004, Todd Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely for the Steve Moore incident - does what Sean Avery did equate? It's possible that they just threw out the words "suspended indefinitely" about Avery because it all happened so fast. I heard that the Stars plan to send Avery home Wednesday morning, and I have no idea when his pending hearing with Gary Bettman is.

This may have just been the straw that broke the camel's back - Avery's been mouthing off to the media and other players for awhile now, and hasn't faced any repercussions. I think that if they were going to suspend him for giving lip, they should have just done it the first time rather than letting it go on and on until he gets suspended for saying that Cuthbert and Hunter are "sloppy seconds". Certainly, Avery crossed the line with his comment that was completely irrelevant to the game. Does he deserve an indefinite suspension from the league, or should it have been handled by the team? Owner of the Stars, Tom Hicks, released a statement saying that if the NHL hadn't suspended Avery, the Dallas Stars would have. I would have completely agreed with that. The Stars like to be known as a classy organization, who treat each other and their opponents with respect and class. Avery goes against that. Brett Hull knew that when he signed Avery, and told him that he has to conduct himself properly to be a part of this team. I recall the direct quote containing the words "don't embarrass the team". Perhaps we should all be thankful that this is the first Avery Incident with the Stars.

Avery's behavior is not sitting well with the well-respected veterans of the Dallas Stars. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News wrote an article containing some interesting quotes from other members of the organization. Goaltender Marty Turco called it "disrespectful" and "a slap in the face". Forever Star Mike Modano says that the team's identity has changed, and that the perception of them has "been tarnished a bit". They no longer get the benefit of the doubt with referees, and are no longer a "quiet, confident group". This can't mean anything good is happening in the locker room, if veterans are speaking out about Avery's behavior. Earlier this season, Modano made some comments about the rough-and-tumble nature, calling the hard-hitting game against the Bruins (okay, less hard-hitting, more dirty-hitting at times) idiotic and stupid, saying "if that's what we're going for, then they need to find me an off-ice job." There must be some discourse between players, and it doesn't leave me hopeful for the state of the team.

As for Avery's future with the Dallas Stars, I don't know anything about that yet. General managers Les Jackson and Brett Hull won't say specifics, but Jackson did say that the Stars cannot be a good team when the player puts himself above the team. Even Hull, longtime Avery supporter, says that Avery must be responsible for his own actions. Modano, though, had the most cryptic, yet strongly-worded statement:

"It's going to take some time," Modano said. "It certainly will be a situation we'll have to address when that time comes ...if it does."

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Stars Head Coach: Dave Tippett

Hello there. I know it's been awhile since HLOG has gotten some Dallas Stars news - forgive me, as it's hard to write when your normally good team is playing under .500 hockey. I've spent most of my time cowering a corner, using a Matt Niskanen jersey as a blanket while clutching a Marty Turco jersey in one hand (I use it instead of tissues) with some sort of alcoholic beverage in the other hand. My liver won't forgive me OR the Stars this season.

That said, here's what I think of head coach, Dave Tippett. This is a coach who has been with the Stars since the 2002-2003 season. The numbers are okay - with the Stars he is 87-48-27. At the end of the 2006-2007 season, he led the Stars in two back-to-back 50-win seasons (according to Wikipedia, also on the list of coaches with that honor are Mike Babcock, Scotty Bowman, Tom Johnson, and Mike Keenan). He's a nice guy, and appears to have a good working relationship with his players.

So what the hell is going on NOW?

So far in this young season, the Stars are 5-8-3. In the beginning it was blamed on a sluggish start - no reason to hit the panic button just yet. The problem wasn't the scores. The problem was how the team was playing. Everyone looked sluggish and confused. Granted, the team was without veterans Jere Lehtinen and Sergei Zubov, both of whom seem to have an incredibly calming influence on the team, but the Stars were without those guys for parts of last season and still managed to get close enough to taste what a Stanley Cup Final MIGHT taste like.

The blame was placed on Marty Turco, who wasn't playing as his usual self. The blame was placed on Sean Avery, who "messed up the chemistry" of the team. The blame was placed on a lot of people - including Dave Tippett. I adore Dave Tippett. I think he's a good coach, despite what the people on the Stars official message boards might say. Look, I can speculate all day long about what goes on in that locker room and what Tippett says to his players, but at the end of the day, I have no idea. I'm not granted access to that part of it.

Some people are saying that the team "won't play" for Tippett anymore. I think that's a load. From all I've seen of post-game interviews and whatnot, the players are equally as upset as Dave Tippett, if not more so. Poor Brad Richards looked like he wanted to cry during his post-game interview after a loss to the Kings at home on Thursday night. I have my problems with what Tippett does - mostly, the juggling of lines. It seems as though a line never plays together longer than a game or two, if that. How can there be any chemistry built between players if they never play on the same line? You have to actually play with a guy to learn what he does and what he's capable of. The only people that seem safe in their spots are Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro on the top line - everyone else gets juggled around. Matt Niskanen, who (usually) plays well on a defensive pair with Sergei Zubov, got benched for the entirety of the third period on Thursday night (not that he didn't deserve to get benched, but that's an entirely different post). Mike Modano, who was playing like a much younger man on a line with B.J. Crombeen and James Neal, now gets in on the shuffling as well, with Neal sent to the minors (which was a business decision, but it still sucks).

In the end, I think it's kind of unfair to place the entirety of the blame on the coach. It's his fault just as much as it is the players' fault. The only problem is, the coach is the easiest to fire.

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Franchise Players

As a Stars fan, we've got a fair share of what I consider franchise players. Obviously, there's Mike Modano, who has spent all of his 18 year career with the Stars (first in Minnesota, then in Dallas). He may not be the player he once was - Modano's no spring chicken at 38 years old - but he's still an incredibly valuable part of the team. I always love watching him skate - his speed is so impressive, my friends and I have coined the term "Modano Jersey", which is when a player is skating so fast that his jersey flaps around behind him like Superman's cape. This past season, he broke records for an American-born player, and don't think for a moment that I didn't cry.

Behind the jump, read more about the Stars franchise players, and whether the concept of a franchise player is a dying one.

Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow has always been an impressive player. He got the "C", and stepped up even more. He's gritty, not afraid to get a little dirty, and one of the most impressive leaders I can think of. He leads by example. I don't know what he says in the locker room, but he's a captain that will give 195% night after night, and expect his teammates to do the same. He's not a franchise player just because he's the captain - he's a franchise player because without his presence, the team would suffer.

Defenseman Sergei Zubov is another guy who leads by example. He wears an "A" along with Modano, and is the "quiet leader". As far as I can tell, he hates personal attention and recognition (despite how often my friends and I shriek that he needs a Norris). He doesn't care about his personal accomplishments - he plays for the team. It's a team sport, he's just one piece of the wheel. Zubov is the veteran leader of the d-corps, and does a fine job. This past season, the Stars had, for the majority of the season, three rookies on the blueline, and I'm sure Zubov's influence helped the kids out a lot. He was with the team when they won the Cup in 1999, and I suspect that he wouldn't leave the Stars.

And Marty Turco. What can be said about Marty Turco, aside from the fact that he's awesome? He's definitely the #1 goalie in this town, and I don't see that changing for a good while. Marty's just now hitting his prime as a goaltender. He's still pretty young - he'll be 33 next month - and these past couple of years have been breakout seasons for him. There have been games that have been decided because of Marty, games where the rest of the team wasn't playing wonderfully, but Marty stood up and took the team on his back, and led them to a victory. He's had his bad moments too, of course, but he's only human.

There are more guys that could be considered current and future franchise players - Jere Lehtinen and Mike Ribeiro are the two I can think of off the top of my head. But what determines whether or not you're a "franchise player"?

To me, a franchise player is the guy who stands out. He's the one who gives his all out there on the ice, night after night. He has some form of leadership role. Just because you've been with the team awhile, that doesn't make you a franchise player, necessarily - that just means you've been there awhile. What if you haven't really done too much? What if you've just skated by (no pun intended), doing just enough to stay on the team? That doesn't mean you're a franchise player, it just means you're there. The franchise players are the ones we can look up to. They stand out in the crowd. And most importantly, they'll always be loved by the fans.

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Weekly Topic: Playoff Memories

Obviously, being a Stars fan, there's one huge thing that stood out in the playoffs for me. How about the Stars making it past the first round for the first time in what feels like forever? I knew that the team was good, but I really had zero expectations when it came to the playoffs, which may explain why I burst into tears when the Stars won game six of the first round. Behind the cut, I go into a bit more detail about the team and the whole fantastic-ness of the situation.


The Stars, throughout their entire playoff run, were definitely the underdogs. No one expected them to win the first round against Anaheim, despite the fact that both teams were pretty fairly matched. When the Stars managed to win that round, everyone said that they would lose against the Sharks, and that the Sharks would win the Cup (which I never, ever believed). Alas, the Stars almost dominated that series, taking a 3-0 lead in the series. Of course, they almost lost it, but still won in a dramatic four overtime win in game six. Unfortunately, they met their match in the Detroit Red Wings.

Marty Turco had some serious monkeys to get off his back when the playoffs began. He was fantastic in the 2007 playoffs, with three shutouts, but again lost in the first round. This year, the team in front of him played their hearts out and managed to win. Even in the Detroit series, Marty came up with some important saves. Games they could have lost 8-1 were lost 4-1 instead. He was astounding, and truly helped carry the team through.

Brenden Morrow is a captain who leads by example. I'm not sure what he says in the locker room, but he puts everything out there on the ice. He will never lie down and take it. He gets right back up and keeps going on. He is, as the Versus commercials said, a giant-killer.

Veteran guys Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov may be getting up there in age, but still play their hearts out. Zubov sat out the first round with an injury, but returned in the San Jose series, a bit shaky. He got better and better with every game he played, and by the end, was 100% the old Sergei Zubov we all know and love. Mattias Norstrom played with a sports hernia through the entire playoffs. That is serious drive, right there.

I would talk about the whole team, but I'm getting exhausted (it's 2:40am here), so I'll close by talking about the rookies. Injuries on the blueline led to key ice time for rookie defensemen Matt Niskanen, Nicklas Grossman, and Mark Fistric. Niskanen was a little shaky, but I just discovered that he was playing with a hairline fracture on his foot. How that went unnoticed, I don't know - perhaps he was just showing that hockey player determination, and played through it even knowing it was more serious than anyone thought. Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric are hard-hitting, bruising defensemen who proved they could compete at the NHL level.

When it's all said and done, I'd say that the team has a bright future. They've proved they can make it, and I would consider them a bit of a Cinderella story in this playoff series. No one expected them to make it as far as they did, but they pulled through, believing in themselves the whole way. I can say with a high degree of certainty that all of their fans believed in them, too.

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Random Excursions & Scary Russian Men

It's funny what happens when you take random excursions during a lunch break. Especially on a random Tuesday, which happened to be today.

My friend, we'll call A. until she can think of a nickname, needed to go to this place to buy an item associated with one of Will Ferrell's many characters. So we took our lunch break and made the drive over to said place. Now on a Tuesday at 12:30 PM this place was definitely NOT hoppin' with the trendy LA crowd because (a) we weren't actually IN LA and (b) I don't make enough money to hang out with the "trendy crowd." But I digress.

We took a turn into the awesome (read: shady) parking lot and made our way inside. As we walked in, I looked to my immediate right out of habit to scope out the scene and to my surprise, there was someone in there that wasn't an employee. (As you might have guessed this wasn't an eating establishment.) This person was standing there with his back to me and in my head I thought, "That... kinda... looks like Dustin Brown." I then took a couple of very conspicuous steps forward to get a better angle, and yes, and it was definitely Brownie.

I turn to my left to tell A. who the only other customer in the store was and we proceeded toward the merchandise. After spending some time perusing, she made the purchase and we walked toward the exit where Brownie was standing and all A. said was, "I'm gonna talk to him. Watch this." She walked right up to him and said, "Hello. I just want to say we're looking forward to next season and see you in Vegas." (Frozen Fury reference) His face turned into one gigantic smile and he said, "Thanks!" As we turned to walk out one employee said to him, "Next season? Do you play sports?" Whereupon he said, "Yeah, I play for the Kings."

Signed, sealed, delivered.

*****

Interestingly enough, I got back to work and immediately let my homie Cat know that I just saw my Power Forward at the store. About 30 minutes later, I get a text from her saying, "sergei zubov is at best buy. what do i do???" After much texting and waiting, I finally get her story, which is summed up quite nicely below.


What do you do when you see a totally awesome, very Russian, very frightening hockey player at Best Buy? I'll tell you what you do.

You run away.

I was at Best Buy today, heading to Geek Squad to get my iPod fixed. The line at Geek Squad was exceptionally long for a Tuesday afternoon at 4pm. I turn to look at the entrance (I'm one of those people that can't look in one direction for too long, I like familiarizing myself with my environment), and I see one Mr. Sergei Zubov step towards the carts, carrying...An iron? Okay, that's cool.

I spent some time meandering the store, debating on whether or not I could afford to purchase a 1TB external hard drive when I'm trying to save up for a trip, and also debating whether or not I want to walk up to Mr. Zubov and congratulate him on an incredible run this season. Connie had just told me about Dustin Brown, and right before I walked out the door I said "I hope I run into some Dallas Stars today to congratulate them!"

Yeah, I should have been more specific.

It could have been anyone else. Anyone else, I would have no fear walking up to them and congratulating them and thanking them. Sergei Zubov? Is too frightening. He seems like the kind of man who appreciates his privacy and the ability to walk around without people freaking out. I wanted to respect that, but I also wanted to respect him as a player and thank him for a wonderful playoff run.

I left Best Buy without an iPod (Geek Squad had to send it off for fixage), and sort of regretting not speaking to Mr. Zubov. Why couldn't it have been Marty Turco?

Cross-posted to A Queen Among Kings

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Stars Take Down Sharks

This is so awesome. I love the fact that I get to write this right now. I don't think anyone expected the Stars to pull off even a first round victory, after the March they had. Instead, the Stars dispatched of the Ducks in six games. And then they drew the Sharks, another Pacific division rival, and almost swept them. Sure, it may have taken a pretty monumental four overtime game to do it, but man, playoff OT hockey is SO AWESOME. More behind the jump...

It's often said that the Pacific is the toughest division in hockey. I would tend to agree, if only for the presence of the Stars, Ducks, and Sharks (no offense to the Coyotes - you know I love Bryz; or the Kings - CKim knows that I've got a fondness for Anze Kopitar that can't be explained). The Stars, Ducks, and Sharks lately have constantly battled for top dog in the Pacific, and the fact that the Stars came out of this one is pretty awesome.

Marty Turco and Brenden Morrow, STARS of round two. Marty Turco continues to make amazing saves and stand on his head to keep his team in it, and Brenden is always there to make that play when you need it. He's truly an inspirational captain, I must say. I mean, I don't know what's said in the locker room. Everything I've heard tells me that Brenden is the kind of captain that leads by example, which makes sense, as he is the guy who gives 3147801347089513% every night. Even Dave Tippett said, "And then I think about Brenden Morrow and I go 'Wow, I'm going to ask for 5 or 10-percent more from this guy? That's a lot!'"

Next up, the Detroit Red Wings. Although I'm quite nervous about this series, I'm also extremely excited. The Red Wings are an incredibly skilled team, and the Stars have always seemed to have a little bit of trouble at Joe Louis Arena. Will they be able to pull of the same thing they did in the first two rounds with two consecutive victories away from home? The Red Wings are facing a different Stars team than they were earlier in the season. This Stars team is brimming with confidence, skill, talent, inspiration, everything.

The Stars ask me to believe. I will.

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Weekly Topic, and MOAR!

I am a total Western Conference girl. Normally, at this time in the season, my Stars would be slumping away with their tails between their legs, getting ready to tee up for the summer, and I would be forced to pick another Western Conference team to root for. Not this year. This year, Baby Hockey Jesus answered at least some of my prayers.


But, for the sake of the question, I have to pick another team that I'm looking forward to seeing in the playoffs. Again, normally, I'd say Calgary, and although I would LOVE to see Calgary upset San Jose, I just can't really root for them to go all the way - for obvious reasons. Instead, I'm going to go with the Penguins.

Yes, the Penguins. I know, Sidney Crosby is overexposed and overrated blah blah blah whatever, but I can't help how much I love that kid. I think the Penguins have some great goaltending in Marc-Andre Fleury, and they've proven they can get the job done in round one. Besides, I don't get to see much of the Eastern Conference, so it'll be nice to have a team to latch onto.

Now, my Stars. If you had told me two weeks ago that I would not be on the losing end of the first round, I may have called you a liar, or at least looked at you in surprise. I always try to be positive about the first round, but, to be completely honest, the Stars haven't given me much reason to be positive. This year, though, they managed to pull out a first round victory. I think this is highly important for them - it may give them the confidence and belief in themselves to go on further than anyone imagined.

Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher are both out (Boo-Boo will be re-evaluated this week, and Russian is skating, but still listed as day-to-day), leaving three rookies on the blueline. Mark Fistric has been performing SO well in his very first playoff games. Nicklas Grossman is a great shut-down guy. Matt Niskanen...Well, okay, let me preface this by saying that I adore him more than words can say. He is my favorite, will always be my favorite, I love him, etc. etc. But he hasn't been doing so great. He's without his best defensive partner, Sergei Zubov, and paired with Mattias Norstrom, who, up until a couple of weeks ago, had not earned anywhere near his 4.25 million salary. He's a thinking player, which makes Anaheim's rough-and-tumble style of play a little harder for him to handle, I think. In Game Six, though, he stepped it up a little more - I thought he played really well (but then again, I'm biased, and others would probably disagree).

Round One is almost over, guys, and I still have a reason to pay attention. It feels really weird.

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Optimism

Do you guys remember my fairly optimistic post from about a week and a half ago? The one where I was all "blah blah confidence blah blah Stars win Pacific blah blah"? Yeah, I'm pretty mad at myself for writing that right about now.

Since I wrote that entry, the Stars have won one out of the five games they've played. Since the trade deadline, they are 3-8. Since Brad Richards started playing, they have won two games. Both the Ducks and the Sharks have surpassed the Stars in points. I actually calculated it - the Stars would have to win every game remaining, and the Ducks and Sharks would both have to lose at least 4 games each in order for the Stars to recapture the division.

My question? How did this happen? Was it taking away three members of a team that was gelling quite nicely? Was it adding a 7.8 million dollar man? What the hell happened? If they keep going at this rate, they can kiss the playoffs goodbye. Now if you'll pardon me, I'm going to go get drunk to deal with this pain.

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Pacific Division Lead

Here's the thing. The Pacific Division is, traditionally, a nailbiter. By that, I mean that no one knows who holds the division lead until the last game of the season.

Now, if you look at just the points, the Stars have a fairly solid lead, with 87 points, while the Ducks trail at 81, and the Sharks just one point behind them. However, the Stars have had a rough, rough schedule this season thus far. They've had tons of long, hard road trips that included some tough back-to-backs. All in all, they've played a hard 69 games (which, by the way, is more than any other team in the league at this moment). The Ducks have played 67 games, and the Sharks 65. This may make it seem like it will be easy for those teams to catch up. While it is true that it's entirely possible that they could win all of their games (although the Sharks would be all of one point ahead, if they won all of their games in hand and the Stars lost all of their games until they got caught up), I feel some serious confidence on behalf of my Stars.

Why?

Well, I'm glad you asked. You may know that the Stars inherited one Bradley Richards, from the Tampa Bay Lightning, on trade deadline day (we also got some dude named Clay Aiken...I mean, Johan Holmqvist). When the trade was first announced, I screamed, cried, and threw a fit, calling for Brett Hull's head on a stick and planning to picket in front of the Stars' practice facility. I gave myself a few hours before I actually acted on any of those impulses, and I'm glad I did, because even thinking about it, it appeared more and more like a good idea. And then he played in his first game. Five assists. Five. Assists. He won't play like that every night, obviously (he certainly didn't on Saturday night), but if he can produce even half that in the playoffs? He's worth that $7.8 million price tag.

That's not saying I won't miss Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, and Mike Smith (my favorite goalie who looked like a love child of Derian Hatcher and a Chia Pet), because I will. Y'all, I'm being forced to watch Tampa Bay Lightning games for them. That Lecavalier guy is pretty rad, I hear.

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Dear Stars,

Please decide whether or not you want to suck or rule. I can't take this suspense. You lose a bunch, and then you come back from the All-Star break and rule.

Also, Sergei Zubov needs to recover quickly, please. Marty Turco, please be okay, too.

Keep winning! Kisses!

Cat

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Ending the Losing Streak

I'm sure many Stars fans were in mourning over the past week, starting on New Year's Eve with a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Nashville Predators. The next team to face was Detroit, which, well, would YOU want to play Detroit after losing a game? I sure wouldn't. They lost that one, too, and then the next night got a whooping from Minnesota (payback for that 8-3 win at the AAC, I guess). Saturday, they got shut out by Detroit.

All in all, a depressing beginning to 2008.

They came back, though, with a happy 3-1 win over Minnesota! Sure, you can't win them all, but you sure as hell want to try to.

Even so, though, with those four losses, the Stars lost their solid first place in the Pacific. They're now tied with San Jose in points, but the tiebreaker leaves San Jose in first place. The Stars used to be second in the Western Conference, but have been beat out by San Jose AND Calgary, and don't even get me started on the league standings. Regardless, I'm sure the Stars can rally forth. They leave for a road trip today, and begin a 5-game road trip in Chicago tomorrow night.

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Clearly they've done SOMETHING right

You'll recall a month or so ago, when I was freaking out about my dear Dallas Stars playing horrifically (a 3 game home stand, in which they played division rivals and lost EVERY single one? NOT GOOD). Now, however, I'm on Cloud Nine.

The Stars sit firmly on top of the Pacific Division, with 46 points. They're second in the Western Conference, and third in the League, beaten only by Detroit and Ottawa. Since that previously mentioned homestand, they're 16-6-2. So now it's time for me to speculate on what they've done to change it.

You know what? I personally don't care WHAT they did to change it, all I care about is that they DID change it. I was sick of seeing my team lose. I was tired of hearing all the crap from Stars fans who complain all the time about everything, regardless of whether they're winning or losing. I was really tired of Antti Miettinen being called "Missthenetinen". Call him Missthenetinen NOW, jerkfaces! He's playing on the top line with Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow, and is the only player who has managed to even somewhat fill the spot of Jere Lehtinen (who will be out until probably mid-January or early February due to a sports hernia).

I'm hoping they can keep this up for the rest of the season. I really like going to Stars games and seeing them win - it makes me feel less like I've wasted my money. So thanks, Stars, for this wonderful Christmas gift.

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Now they hit the West Coast

Seriously, you guys, the Stars have the worst travel of anyone in the league. I don't like 9pm starts, I have to sleep. I'm getting old.

Anyway, after a successful road trip to face some Eastern Conference teams (the Stars came out 4-2-0 in that trip, I'd say that's pretty darn successful), they now head to the West Coast to face off against the Sharks, Oilers, Canucks, and Flames.

Since firing General Manager Doug Armstrong in November, the Stars are 10-4-1. I'm pretty sure that makes it apparent that there was something going on behind the scenes, and that firing Armstrong was the right move. The Stars now have 38 points, and are battling with San Jose for number one in the Pacific Division. The Stars record is 17-11-4, which I feel is pretty good, considering the slow, SLOW start to the season.

I really don't know what to talk about with my Stars, besides that. There's little happening, really. Just trying to get back to their winnin' ways.

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Breaking the Streak

Thanks, Devils, for breaking my Stars' 6-game win streak. They could have tied a franchise record if you didn't have to be greedy with the points yesterday.

All joking aside, I'm not terribly upset about the Stars losing. Sure, in the beginning of the season they sucked pretty hard, and I'm still reeling from the 5-0 loss to Phoenix on November 2nd, but man. Once that front office shake-up happened, where the owner fired the GM and the president stepped down, the team has been performing SO well. It's like they actually want to play hockey. You know, the thing they're paid thousands (or millions, depending on who you are) of dollars to do?

Since November 16, the team had not lost a single game. Came close a couple of times, sure, but not a single game was lost, not even facing the Rangers and their 41 shots on goal. Only two of those shots went in. Jussi Jokinen scored 4 goals in a single game, a feat that hasn't been done since the great Brett Hull in 2001. Mike Smith got his fourth career shutout against the Los Angeles Kings, some great revenge for the meltdown at Staples Center on the 10th.

And then the Devils came along, and beat the team 4-2.

Like I said, I'm not terribly upset. I suspect most Stars fans aren't. There are those Dorito-chomping Chicken Littles out there who are saying "OMGZ WE GUNNA LOOSE EVERY GAME DIS SEESON", but I highly doubt that, with the way this team has been playing. I don't doubt there will be a trade before the deadline hits in February, probably for this "high-speed scoring winger" that we've been hearing about (hi, let's give Chris Conner a chance to prove that he can do that). Will that make the team better? Who knows. The problem with trades like that is that you only get one chance. If the player you get doesn't fit in, it can mess with your lines horribly, and leave you struggling to find a line he can play on where things work. No matter what, someone will always be scratched to make room for this superstar winger, and on a team chock full of veterans, that doesn't leave the rookies and young guys with a chance to step up their game.

To round this out, I'm going to brag a little bit, because it makes me feel better. The Stars remain at the top of the Pacific division with 30 points, 4 points ahead 2nd place Anaheim. They're second in the conference (of course the Red Wings are first), and fourth in the league, barely beaten out by the Philadelphia Flyers (who, incidentally, the team will face on Saturday night, one night after getting to see Sidney Crosby). I'm pleased, especially after the beginning of the season.

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Totally Panicking

So maybe it's unwarranted, or maybe I'm too emotionally invested in my favorite hockey team. Whatever. For the past week, I have been in a constant state of panic about my team, up and down, since Saturday night's loss to the LA Kings.

After Saturday, I had a feeling something was going to change. On Tuesday, the Stars fired GM Doug Armstrong, and named Brett Hull and Les Jackson co-interim-GMs. On Wednesday, president Jim Lites stepped down (I have my own theories on this, but that's for a rainy day), and Jeff Cogen, former president of the Texas Rangers baseball team, was given a shiny new position.

Even though Hull and Jackson have said numerous times that they are going to evaluate what they have before making any stupid trades, I can't help but be ridiculously nervous. Two of my favorite players are rookies (well, Mike Smith is in his second season, but that still qualifies). I'm fairly certain they won't get traded, as Niskanen is playing extremely well, and Smith proved his worth last season (not so much this season, but then again, Marty Turco isn't playing so well either), but this panicked vibe around the team and the media and the fans is not doing my brain so well.

I'm mostly posting this to see if a) people think I'm a moron, or b) people have gone through this insanity before and have any words of suggestion.

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The Fairweather Fan

While I'm sure this happens to tons of other teams, I do write for the Dallas Stars here on HLOG, and so I'll keep it to that. Let's proceed.

We all know the Stars have been kind of shitting the bed lately, with their 7-7-3 and that horrific overtime loss to the Kings on Saturday night (well, horrific for me - less horrific for KMS2, I suspect). I'm one of those fans that will support my team and love my team through and through. I didn't even yell at them from my seats on November 2, in that 5-0 shutout loss to Phoenix. I just sat there in awe of what was unfolding in front of me, and cried a little. When I rewatched the game at home (because I did, despite how much it hurt), I didn't yell at them through my television. I sat there in silence, drinking a glass of scotch (it's my mourning drink) and thought about what the hell is going through their heads.

I don't know why I go to message boards where I know people are filled with total anger and hate, but for some reason, I ventured to the Stars message boards, and haven't been able to stop. When the Stars shut out Anaheim 5-0 last Monday night, there were people saying things like "typical of the Stars, use up all your energy in the first game and blow the last three". Um, what? STFU, n00b, be happy they won. And then they won on Wednesday, and the calls to fire head coach Dave Tippett were momentarily silenced. And then they blew it on Thursday, and some people called for more action. After Saturday, you can imagine what they're saying.

I have no problem with fans being concerned about the state of their team. Hell, I'm concerned about the state of my team. I hate the constant negativity surrounding the fans. Yeah, yeah, hockey is totally my life and really is ~*serious business*~, but I try to think positively and always look on the bright side of life (insert Monty Python joke here). I don't jump on the "TRADE TURCO TO THE PENGUINS" (yeah, cause that's going to happen...Like, when pigs fly or something) or "FIRE DAVE TIPPETT" trains. Teams have slumps. Teams have bad games. Players have off nights. It's not the biggest deal in the world.

So this was a crappy, jumbled mess of a post, so here's my main idea: Don't stop loving your team just because they have some rough times. Stick by your team through and through, and they won't disappoint. At least, let's hope they won't.

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Turco helps Ducks end 3-game skid

That is the headline on Yahoo! Sports. Thanks, Marty!

After a horrendously disappointing week at home, where the Stars lost to the Sharks (4-2), Blackhawks (5-4), and the Coyotes (5-0), tonight's game was REALLY IMPORTANT. Thankfully, the team delivered, posting a 5-0 shutout win against the Anaheim Ducks. This brings the team to 14 points, at 6-6-2.

That brings me to my next point - what's up with the Pacific division this year? Sharks are at 15, while the Kings, Ducks, and Stars all have 14. Phoenix is down there with 10. Isn't this supposed to be a competitive division? I mean, come on. Whatever, as long as the Stars keep winning I have no complaints about anything ever.

According to Marty Turco, the team was playing like "dog meat" last week. Thanks for noticing, Marty. Good thing they fixed it, otherwise there would be even more angry Stars fans than there already are.

You would expect the head coach to make them do drills until they puked and/or fainted after losing 3 in a row at home, but no. According to the Dallas Morning News, practice on Saturday was fun, and included goalie Mike Smith playing a hardcore game of pingpong with Sergei Zubov post-practice, while wearing nothing but a jockstrap and knee-high black socks.

Um, WHAT? That is less fun and more disturbing. But apparently whatever strategy they used at practice worked, because they won 5-0 tonight. I'm hoping that the Stars can keep this up. I'm also hoping that Mike Modano can break that record this week. I mean, seriously. It's November already, and at the beginning of the season he was something like 7 points away. He's still 2 points away. There is something wrong with that.

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An Open Letter to Mike Modano

Dear Mike Modano,
It is to my understanding that you recently wed former pop-star and Dancing With the Stars alum, Willa Ford. Congratulations, I'm sure you'll be very happy together, with your millions of dollars and your ridiculous house (yeah, I saw MTV Cribs, what are you gonna do?). I'm not sure what she's doing these days, but give her my best wishes, would you?

Now that the the pleasantries are out of the way, I'm going to get harsh. What the hell is wrong with you lately? Allow me to explain why I am asking you this.

Recently (with a few exceptions), you look like you've been skating in mud. This is severely uncool, Mr. Modano. You are aware that at the beginning of the season, you were five points away from breaking a record. FIVE POINTS, Mr. Modano. While I did not expect this record to be broken in the first game, I DID expect it all to be taken care of by the end of October (it still could be, and it BETTER be, because I'm not paying to see you totally suck, okay?). You are the face of the Dallas Stars (despite my protests). You have been playing with this team since 1989. 1989, Mr. Modano. That is a damn long time.

Yes, I know you got your captaincy taken away for the 2006 season, but let's face it - Brenden Morrow is a better captain than you. Don't let your feelings be hurt, it's just the truth, okay? This doesn't mean you get to play like crap this season. Also, the fact that you're 37? Yeah, I don't care how old you are, I know you can do better. You know who else is 37? Sergei Zubov. Don't get me started on that crazy Russian, okay, because he's totally awesome and has been fantastic so far, skating like a dude ten years younger than him. YOU CAN DO THE SAME, RIGHT? Or are you spending too much time enjoying married life?

All I'm saying, Mr. Modano, is that I really want this record to be broken in the next three games, and not only because I will be in attendance for all of them. Even the Stars website is supporting you again. Before, it had "5 points to become the all-time American born points leader". Then that got taken away when it looked like you wouldn't score those 5 points until at least Christmas, and replaced with photos of, you guessed it, Brenden Morrow. After the Phoenix game last night, the countdown is back. MAKE IT GO AWAY AGAIN, PLEASE, but for BREAKING the record, okay? Because I'm still waiting for pictures of Marty Turco to show up.

Much love,
Cat

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Finally, a road win

My Stars finally won a game on the road this season (my recap of the game, which was pretty awesome, is here)! In seasons past, they've been a pretty good road team, but this season has been pretty bad (a 4-3 loss against Colorado, 5-1 loss to Nashville, and last Saturday's 2-1 OT loss to Chicago). Last night's game puts us at 3-2-2, and the Stars have edged past San Jose for current second place in the Pacific.

Anyone remember when the Pacific was one of the toughest divisions in hockey? You know, like, last season, when a Pacific team won the Cup? What happened to that? Not that the teams aren't doing well, but from what I've seen (which, admittedly, isn't as much as I'd like - I've seen every Stars game, but not all of the other teams' games), it's not looking nearly as good as last season. I'll chalk it up to the season still being fresh.

Now, I've said that the Stars won, and yet some Stars fans (the annoying ones) are all "that might as well have been a loss - the shootout isn't going to help them in the playoffs". While that may be true, the Stars still got their points, which will help lead them TO the playoffs. Whether they can get out of the first round is something only time can tell, really.

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