Blackout Dallas - A Dallas Stars blog

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What Happened:

The Anaheim Ducks opened the first period peppering Kari Lehtonen with shots, forcing the netminder to make solid saves early in the game. The Stars had trouble finding a groove, something that seems to happen a lot, but ultimately made up for it towards the end of the frame. Mike Ribeiro, in his first game back from injury, showed poise and patience and dropped a pass to Alex Goligoski. He sent a rocket towards Jonas Hiller that deflected off of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler right into the net. A good way to celebrate that shiny new contract extension. The Stars were out shot 10-3 in the period, but led 1-0 when the buzzer sounded. The middle frame was relatively quiet when it came to points, but it did see two fighting majors, two offsetting minors, and two Anaheim power plays. Lehtonen and the Stars stopped all 9 shots that made their way to the Dallas net to keep the 1-0 lead intact into the third period. The Stars had to withstand a storm in the third period, and Lehtonen rose to the occasion. The Stars faced an onslaught in the final minutes but the Stars stood tall, allowing nothing through. The Stars held on and Kari Lehtonen earned the shut out with a 1-0 victory.

What It Means:

The Stars needed a win tonight. Needed. Instead of entering the All-Star break full of doubts, the team can now look at a solid win and focus on the positives to improve their game. Kari Lehtonen was the undisputed champion of tonight’s game, earning his first shut out of the season. A feat not easily accomplished against a team as red-hot as the Ducks.  The Ducks out shot and at times out played the Stars, but they had no answer for the Big Fin. Mike Ribeiro made a beautiful play that led to the Goligoski goal, showing why this team struggles offensively without him. His poise and patience are unmatched on the Dallas Stars. The Stars got an important two points tonight, and now get to look ahead past the All-Star break to a breakneck final half of the season. The playoffs are there for the taking, it’s up to the Stars to rise to the occasion. Other game notes:

• Tonight was the first NHL game of Matt Fraser’s career. He had one shot in just 3:57 of ice time.
• Mike Ribeiro made his much awaited return tonight after being out with an MCL injury since January 7th. He created the first goal, getting an assist on Goligoski’s goal.
• The Stars penalty kill was 2/2 and the team had no power play chances.

What’s Next:

After limping to the finish line, the All-Star break has finally arrived. The Stars next game will not be until February 1st, when they return to the ice against the Anaheim Ducks once again. This All-Star break will be a welcome relief for the Stars, and hopefully they will come back at full health, with the sorely missed Jamie Benn making his return to the ice.

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Austin Waldron (@BlackoutDallas)

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Tonight the Dallas Stars get one more chance to get back on track before the All-Star break, and they will have to do it against one of their biggest rivals. The Anaheim Ducks roll into Dallas tonight as the two Pacific division rivals will play their final game before the week long break. While the Ducks are coming into the game on fire ( 8-0-1 in their last nine), the Stars are coming in on a five-game losing streak (0-4-1). In the midst of that skid, the Stars have fallen behind in the Pacific division race and are now just trying to stay in the playoff race in the West. Picking up two points tonight and going into the break on a high note could be a huge boost for the team.

Mike Ribeiro will make his return to the lineup tonight after missing seven games with an MCL tear. While Ribeiro and Jamie Benn were both out of the lineup, the Stars struggled to create offense nightly. In their last five games the team has scored six goals and of course not won a single game. While they gave up five goals to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, they limited the other four teams in that stretch to only seven goals if you take out the shootout “goal” the Red Wings got.

But with Ribs returning, the Stars will play tonight without Benn and captain Brenden Morrow. Morrow is back on the IR with a “neck” injury and nothing is really known as far as to his timeline after the break. Because of that, youngster Matt Fraser will make his NHL debut tonight. The 21-year old winger has 21 goals so far this season in the AHL with the Texas Stars and he scored two goals in three games during the preseason for Dallas. While he will play on the 4th line probably, it will be interesting to see him in action with the big club. Don’t expect him to stay up with the team for long, but he could be seeing more time or some permanent stints as early as next season. On the other hand, the Ducks are only really without back-up goalie (and former Stars player) Dan Ellis currently. Along with their recent rise back into respectability, they have a pretty healthy roster right now.

Puck drops at 7:30 CST tonight from the AAC. Should be another fun one in downtown, as Stars vs Ducks games are always fun to take in and full of energy. Tune in to Fox Sports SW or 1310AM The Ticket if you can’t make it out. Don’t forget to show up early if you are coming though, as it is Steve Ott bobblehead night, and I won’t let you have mine if you show up late.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The first big move financially by new ownership took place this morning, as the Dallas Stars and General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk signed the first of their two big restricted free agents to-be to a big contract extension. The team has signed defenseman Alex Goligoski to a four-year contract extension worth a reported $18.4 million that will keep “Goose” with the Stars until after the 2015-2016 season and make him the second highest paid player on the roster.

The 26-year old Goligoski was supposed to become a restricted free agent this summer and now the Stars only have Jamie Benn to deal with as far as “big name” players looking for a new contract this summer. After tying up Trevor Daley to a nice extension last year, the team now will have two of their best players on the roster for quite a few years. Besides Benn, the Stars also will have to address RFA’s Philip Larsen and Mark Fistric this summer along with their list of unrestricted free agents that includes Nicklas Grossman and Adam Burish.  Continue reading this post »

What Happened:

The Dallas Stars rolled into the Xcel Energy Center with last season’s finale fresh on the veteran’s minds. The Stars allowed the Wild to score five goals, just as they did back in April of 2011. Also, like last season finale, the Stars’ scorers failed to get pucks past the Minnesota netminder, losing this time by a score of 5-2.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead when former Wild, Eric Nystrom charged in front of the net and tipped in a Stephane Robidas bid from the blue line. The seemingly inspired Stars enjoyed the lead until half way through the second period when Devin Setoguchi trickled a shot over Kari Lehtonen’s left shoulder, just under the crossbar. Two minutes later, Stars defenseman, Philip Larsen scored his first NHL goal, as he sent a seeing-eye puck past Josh Harding through a screen of Adam Burish and two Wild players. Then, Hockey Day became Hockey Night as the home team exploded for three goals in 61 seconds. Cal Clutterbuck, Chad Rau and Kyle Brodziak ultimately ended the Stars bid to end their four-game losing streak and the night of Lehtonen. Dany Heatly, who just seemed destined to score, welcomed Stars back-up goaltender, Richard Bachman just two minutes into the third period. From there, the Stars appeared like all they wanted to do was to leave the Twin Cities without incurring any additional injuries. Continue reading this post »

The uphill climb is continuing to become harder for the Dallas Stars. Forget fighting for the Pacific division right now, they just need to find a way to get a couple of wins. After another offensively lacking contest last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the offense really struggling for half of the game to even get some shots, the Stars now have to find a way to score on the second night of a back-to-back. So far this season the Stars are 0-6-1 in the second game of back-to-backs and tonight does not look like a great chance to change that. While the Minnesota Wild have been in free-fall mode recently, they are still wining some games at home. Their 2-11-4 record in their last 17 games has resulted in them going from leading their division to sitting one point above the Stars in 9th right now with the Stars having one game in hand. But they are still 12-6-3 at home this season and a team fighting for playoff positioning at home is always dangerous.

Both teams have seen their recent woes coincide with injuries to big names. While Dallas is trying to find a way to survive without Mike Ribeiro and Jamie Benn, the Wild understand the Stars pain right now. Top centers Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard are both out right now, along with top six winger Guillaume Latendresse. Both clubs are struggling without some of their better players, and tonight could be a scrappy contest between two teams that are going to need the offense to come from all lines.

The puck drops at 8PM Central tonight up in Minnesota, and don’t forget it is on TXA-21 in north Texas because it is a Saturday contest. Tonight will be the first of four contests in only a couple of months between the two teams. The Stars have historically played well against Minnesota, with an all-time record of 26-11-3 versus the Wild. All of the Stars’ last four losses have been one goal games and a big win in what should be another tight game on the road would be a big spirit lifter for the team and fans.

Follow Blackout Dallas On Twitter:

Austin Waldron (@BlackoutDallas)

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Tony Jaremko (@TonyJar34)

Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images

What Happened:

The Stars weathered the Lightning storm for much of the first period, surviving two penalty kills, and getting spectacular saves from Kari Lehtonen along the way. Unfortunately, Lehtonen looked like the only Stars player who came to play, as the Stars could only manage 5 shots on goal, to the Lightning’s 13. Lehtonen couldn’t survive the onslaught forever, and the Teddy Purcell finally put a puck in with just over one minute left in the period. The Stars saw back to back power plays in the first half of the middle frame, but couldn’t generate many chances, scoring no goals. The power play did manage to get the Stars offense moving, as they began throwing pucks at the net, winning the shot count of the second period 12-5. Still, the Stars could not capitalize and the score remained 1-0 Tampa Bay through two periods. The Stars needed a big third period, and answered the call right away. Tom Wandell redirected a Loui Eriksson pass and the puck crept past Tampa netminder Mathieu Garon less than two minutes into the final frame. The tie wouldn’t last long, and Purcell scored his second of the game to give the Bolts a 2-1 lead two minutes later. The Lightning would hold the lead for the rest of the game despite multiple chances for the Stars down the stretch.

What It Means:

Another loss to a team who’s record would indicate that the game should be an easy win. Of course, in the NHL, records don’t matter day in and day out. The Stars have lost against three of the bottom four teams in the NHL, and while these should be the types of game that a team needs to win, nothing is guaranteed. The Stars are sorely missing their top two centers and have only scored 4 goals in the last 4 games. The Stars need to survive this slump and return from the All-Star break ready to fight for a playoff spot. The Stars record in back to backs shows that tomorrow’s game against Minnesota will be a struggle, but the Stars need someone to step up and carry the team into the break. These games are winnable, and it’s not like the Stars are getting destroyed. They’re fighting and putting forth the effort, but it’s just not enough. Game notes:

• Tom Wandell scored his third goal of the season, and despite the loss, are still 12-2-1 when he gets a goal.
• As usual, the penalty kill was perfect (4/4) and the power play was nowhere to be seen (0/3).

What’s Next:

The Stars finish off their back-to-back tomorrow night in Minnesota. The Stars have yet to win the second half of a back-to-back this season, and have picked up a point in just one, earlier this week against Detroit. The Stars have a budding rivalry with Minnesota, and this will be the first time they’ve seen each other since Minnesota knocked Dallas out of a playoff spot on the last day of the season last year. The puck drops at 8:00pm.

Follow Blackout Dallas On Twitter:

Austin Waldron (@BlackoutDallas)

Andrew Monrreal (@ammonrreal)

Tony Jaremko (@TonyJar34)

The Stars are coming off a shootout loss against the Detroit Red Wings, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are playing their first game since a satisfying 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins, a win that broke a seven-game losing streak. Both teams are in desperate need of a win, but for completely different reasons. The Stars are fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, and while the Lightning are all but buried in the Eastern Conference playoff race, every win makes things a little bit brighter for a dark situation in Tampa Bay, who have fallen dramatically since their Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year.

Both teams are in the first game of a back-to-back. Kari Lehtonen is expected to start for the Stars, and Mathieu Garon will get the start over Dwayne Roloson for the Lightning. Roloson, who miraculously backstopped the Lightning to their Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season, has become the de facto back up in a terrible goaltending situation in Tampa Bay. He’s 6-10-2 and has 23 starts and Garon is 12-13-2 in 31 starts. One of the more incredible stats relating to the goaltending in Tampa Bay is that Dwayne Roloson has not won a game since November 17th. The Stars are missing their top two centers, but if they find a way to put enough shots on net, recent history says that the Stars can light up the Lightning, no matter which goalie is in net.

Game Notes:

• Philip Larsen has been activated off of IR and is ready to go, but will not play tonight. Jamie Benn and Mike Ribeiro are also out.
• The Lightning have a 6-16-3  away record, only Anaheim, Columbus, and Carolina have less away wins.
• The Lightning defense has been crippled with the loss of Victor Hedman and Marc-Andre Bergeron and have to rely on AHL call ups to fill the gaps on the blue line.
• The game begins at 7:30pm. Watch on FS-SW, listen on 1310 The Ticket, or head down to the AAC and see the game.

It’s January in the hockey world. That means two things: that we are starting to see what team will compete for playoff spots, and that trade rumors are really starting to heat up. On Twitter, on blogs, on fan boards, and even on nightly NHL Network shows. The rumor machine is starting to kick it into high gear and there is no stopping it. It can be fun to listen to and read about, but putting trust in 95% of it will just bring letdowns and headaches.

So where do the Dallas Stars fit into everything this season? Last year I think most of us didn’t expect for the Stars to make a big trade in the second half of the season. They didn’t have ownership still, money was tight, and GM Joe Nieuwendyk really looked like he had his hands tied unless he moved Brad Richards and decided to give up on the season. But then Nieuwy made a move that few of us might have seen coming. Young power forward James Neal was on his way to the Pittsburgh Penguins with struggling defenseman Matt Niskanen and the Stars received a young puck-moving defenseman in Alex Goligoski that they wanted. Despite the argument that Dallas might have overpaid, they did make a move during a time that it seemed they would have little ability to pull one off.

Fast forward a year and things are starting to kick up again. The Stars are again in the playoff picture, but are again having injury issues and inconsistent efforts that are leaving them bouncing around the final playoff spot. But what the Stars do have this season is new ownership. With Tom Gaglardi now in place, the Stars do have an owner willing to spend some money. He has already said he does not plan to keep the Stars close to the salary-cap floor. So with the team struggling at times and now without Jamie Benn and Mike Ribeiro, some fans are eager to see GM Joe and the team make a big move.  Continue reading this post »