I Guess That's Why They Call Them The Blues! Stars Fall Again 6-1
by Art Middleton on Mar 4, 2010 10:45 PM CST
in Game Recaps
40 comments
I can tell by the "spirited" talk on our game thread and by the comments of other Stars fans that I've seen on various other sites and message boards that we're all just a little fed up and a lot frustrated by the state of our beloved hockey team is in right now. So before I get into tonight's recap, I just want us all to take one step back and breathe...
Breathe in.
...
And breathe out.
Feel a little better now? Not really? Sorry, I tried.
I'm sure most of us came into tonight's game thinking "Well it can't possibly get any worse than it was on Tuesday" and yet here we are after a mind numbing 6-1 Stars loss to the St. Louis Blues and most of us are now thinking "Wow, it not only got worse tonight, but now this team has to play three on the road out east!"
Feel free to do a few more breathing exercises as we try to figure out just what the heck the problem is...
Would you believe me if I said that the Stars led the game in faceoff wins, shots and had a perfect penalty kill? Normally when a team does those three things in a single game, they'd be winning it... Or at the very least be within a goal of a low scoring game if they aren't winning. So can we can't quite fully question this team's heart and desire because it's there.
Part of the problem is offensively they can't finish. Some of that is the result of a hot goalie on the other end which to his credit the Blues Chris Mason was tonight. The rest of it has to do with the fact Dallas isn't keeping it simple out there. One too many passes... One too many times a shot went well wide of the net... Not enough traffic in front of the Blues crease and too much perimeter play and shots. The powerplay went 0 for 4 and never once looked overly dangerous.
The one Stars goal came off of hard work by James Neal and Brad Richards in the corner feeding a wide open Loui Eriksson who was parked two feet from the Blues net for one of his trade mark tap in goals. We should be seeing as much of that as possible from all the lines, yet it's just not there.
Also problematic - and stop me if you've heard this before - is the very lame defense this team has right now. Just how did the Blues pile up such a big lead?
basically skated around at will in the offensive zone and scored their first four goals of the night from the slot will nary a hand of resistance from the Stars' defense there to meet them.
Recognize that line? That's from Brandon's recap of Tuesday night's game. It was more of the same tonight only switch out the word "first four" with "four of the six"
And that brings us to the goalies... Ahh yes, the topic du 'jour right now for Stars fans.
Yes Turco let in two softies in the first that blew this game wide open and yes Kari looked pretty bad on that sixth, but should fans really to be that focused on how bad the goaltending is when the Stars offense only scored one goal? If the Stars had scored five but allowed six in the same manner they did tonight, then fine, I guess the goaltending issue would be something I think is worthy of debate and major criticism. Right now though goaltending is just a fraction of the problem for Dallas.
Make no mistake, this Stars team is losing with a total team effort - or lack thereof I suppose. It isn't just the forwards, it isn't just the defense and it surely isn't just the goalies.
And the kicker to all of this? This is your team for the rest of the season boys and girls! No more trades are going to be made... No free agents are going to be brought in... Unless another NHL team GM goes insane and waives top six forward or top two defenseman, the Stars aren't picking anyone up off the waiver wire.
And stop having grand illusions of Marc Crawford or Joe Nieuwendyk being dismissed. They were just hired this past summer and they are going to be given time to set this team right in the way that both of them want. The worst thing that can happen to this team right now is a revolving door in the front office that ruins continuity, so not only should we expect for Crow and GM Joe to be kept, we as fans should be demanding it.
What I am saying here is that there is no real sense of gnashing teeth or pounding fists over this club right now... It is what it is and while none of us like it (and believe me I doubt anyone that skated on that ice tonight in black was having much fun either) we do have to live with it and just hope that somewhere in the next few games the Stars offense will start clicking down low, the defense will get tougher around their net and the goalies will bear down and stop pucks.
Maybe they'll find their game on the road this weekend. Or maybe this horrible trend will continue. Either way, I recommend doing more of those breathing exercises in the meantime.
0 recs |
40 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
No good
I was at the game and left when it got 5-1, which was only a few minutes in to the third. Thats 11 games in a row iv’e been to that they’ve lost (dating back to last year) and 2 in a row iv’e had to leave early to save face. The defense tonight was atrocious, Marty was swiss cheese as usual, and nobody could hit the net to save thier life. Those softies let in by Marty killed us early and St. Louis did’t look back. Not to be pessimistic (as if i had any other alternative), but we’ll probrably drop the next three on this road swing out east and just tank the rest of the way. Might as well so we can get a higher pick next year anyway. Bottom line is that we need defense this offseason. If that means dealing Ribs, then so be it. If some serious moves are not made this offseason then yeah, I will start calling for Joe’s head.
typical...
I’ll give it to you that Marty was not good tonight, but the game against the Kings was not his fault in the least and with better coverage tonight the game could have been saved. The final score is the only thing that matters, but it doesn’t dictate personal performance.
We mustve been watching different games.
I only saw one goal i’d pin on Marty as a “shouldve had that” and even that one the defense collapsed and gave Kariya a prime opportunity.. The rest was just awful defensive support.
"Success is never ending, failure is never final."
by GenericBrand on Mar 5, 2010 12:55 AM CST up reply actions
glad i missed this game
gotta get some insanley unlikely wins on the road now….
"They’ve taken the Illini to the woodshed."
-Steve Lavin on Mizzou v. Illinois
The complete inability to transition out of their own zone
is part of the reason the offense sucks. These guys might be the worst group in the league at transitioning out of their own zone. Poor turnovers and lack of effort by everyone doesn’t help either.
Did anyone take the body in front of the net? Honestly the most egregious thing is the absolute lack of heart and leadership by the veterans. Morrow was a heart and soul guy for Team Canada. He hasn’t shown any of that for Dallas this year? Modano is invisible. Robidas has 3 points in 24 games this year. And a sterling -3 tonight. Skrastins looks like he needs to hang it up and Daley is so bad he appears to be in a contest with Niskanen on who is the worst defenseman on a terrible team.
Pointing fingers could take all night and still not adequately describe how bad this has become.
19 men
The same 19 men.
The exact same 19 men that looked like world beaters before the break.
Now they look like this.
The same 19 men. Lehtonen or Auld…be damned. We’re not talking about them.
It’s the same guys.
It’s on the coaching staff….and the players…it’s on everyone and it effing sucks.
exactly...
I put heavy blame on GM Joe for firing Tippett and bringing in Crawford. Thanks Joe!!!
Ditto!
So Tippett has a team that was cellar dwellers in the hunt this year and we have most of the same crew that took the Stars into the Western Finals against the Wings and we are in 11th place? Injuries explains last year, don’t give me the crap about the other players have to stand up in their place. They do, but you can’t have a Richards or Ribiero mirrored on a roster unless Steinbrenner owns your club and you don’t have a salary cap! Marty has had a love hate relationship with this team over the years, but you can’t blame poor d, and lack of goal scoring on him. I just don’t think this group is able to execute the Crawford pinching style of play and aggressive level of effort. I have tickets to two more games and after last night and the Kings game, I don’t even know if I want to pony up the parking and food prices to watch that level of pro hockey again. Like Metallica said, you know it’s sad but true!
+1
To me its coaching and preperation. And the lack of movement of players would support that. If the talent wasnt here or the players they wanted were here then Nieuwy wouldve replaced guys. Crawford and friends are the biggest problem and the players are second but I think thats largely because of the lack of confidence in the staff.
"Success is never ending, failure is never final."
by GenericBrand on Mar 5, 2010 12:53 AM CST up reply actions
I'm no Crawford apologist
but why does this all fall at his feet and not the players? I remember Niskanen, Daley, Skrastins, and Robidas all being bad at times last year.
Neal’s failure to backcheck is about his lack of effort not skill or scheme. Turco’s soft goals still fall on Turco no matter how bad the defense is. And hey Morrow playing great for Canada but not giving that effort for the team that pays him falls on Morrow not the coach. Vince Lombari could be behind the bench and the up and downs would still be there because motivation has to come from within. Coaches can’t force players to care. I didn’t see anyone except Eriksson, Fistric and Benn give a damn last night. Richards is not a defensively gifted center. He wasn’t in Tampa, he’s not now, and a new coach won’t change that. Ott’s not some backchecking wizard. People blamed the injuries for the inconsistent and at times terrible play last year but maybe just maybe this falls on the players and leaders in this locker room.
Niewendyk just got here and Crawford’s his guy for good or ill. The next step isn’t throwing out another coaching staff its jettisoning players who can’t or won’t excel in this system. The pointing of fingers has to start there.
Why isn't it Nieuwendyk's and Crawford's fault, at least partially?
Joe knew the makeup of the team back in the summer when he was hired, yet he hired Crawford anyway. And instead of adjusting to what he has to work with, Crawford has been trying to force a square peg into a round hole and it hasn’t been working. Shouldn’t a good coach be able to adjust to what he has to work with? Occasionally, the team has been able to get all its crap together, but very seldom all at the same time (or for very long when they do). There is plenty of blame to go around and Nieuwendyk and Crawford need to shoulder their share of it.
Oh it is.
I’m not giving Crawford a pass. He hasn’t set the world on fire with his system. Both Crawford and Joe want to play an uptempo system but the players aren’t excelling at that. Either they need to change the system or the players. I don’t anticipate it being the former and at this point I’m not sure if its going to be the latter either. We’ve become the 1990s Oilers as our upside.
My issue is people pining for Tippet as though this team didn’t perpetually under achieve with him here except for one good playoff run. Does no one remember 04? The Colorado debacles? A team that couldn’t score against Vancouver? Crawford has not worked but my point is that I don’t care who’s behind the bench, No one is getting this gutless group of players to become winners.
When Joe interviewed
he said that Offensive hockey is what has won the recent Stanley Cups, that all the rule changes and emphasis on obstruction means that offensive systems are the future of the nhl and on top of that , even if you aren’t winning it is exciting and puts fans in the seats. So when he was hired he had a mandate to do exactly that. They are seeing which square pegs can change and fit in the round hole … those guys stick around. Move the others. I do wish they had been a little more honest with the fans about what that process would likely be … not just selling the best case scenario.
I think it's safe to say that the Dallas Stars have reached their 'Catastrophic Moment' of the season, to borrow a phrase from Rangers fans.
"It would've been a huge momentum boost if we had beaten the St. Mary's School for the Blessed, Blind, Deaf and Dumb."
Hockey nut since the night of 5/2/08. What a night it was.
twitter.com/PatIVERSEN
Goalies are the easiest target to point the blame at....
I think Lehtonen was a good signing and I am excited to see him play when the entire team hasn’t already given up on the game. The defense isn’t playing at all and the forwards are over-committing on their plays. James Neal was skating right at players and hoping the puck would come off their stick… when it didn’t it left him as the a third forward deep in an offensive zone. Odd man rushes against a defense that is hardly playing won’t cut it and leaves a goalie to try to battle off a team with all the confidence of a 4-1 game. I thought Lehtonen was great in his time but he was asked to polish a turd.
Skrastins can’t play long enough shifts, Daley is trying to do too much on offense and not playing enough D, Robidas doesn’t look all there when we go down, Groosman and Fistric follow Robidas lead, and Niskanen is… is…. I don’t know what he is doing but he needs to be in AHL learning to play. He was great when playing with Zubov sure but how much of that was him and how much was Zubov? Bring up Fortunus and send Brunstrom and Niskanen down… if it is on waivers then so be it!
Goodbye Turco, hello Lehtonen
I don’t know if he’s any good or not but he’s clearly the only hope for us to make the playoffs. At the very least we can give him a good look and see if he’s worth resigning and for how much.
by JoeyJoeJoeJr.Shabadoo on Mar 5, 2010 2:53 AM CST reply actions
Coaching staff
“not only should we expect for Crow and GM Joe to be kept, we as fans should be demanding it.”
Seriously? I’m not ready to pull the trigger on GM Joe but I’ve NEVER liked the firing of Tippett and the hiring of Crawford. Tippett still seemed to have the players’ respect and he knew which freaking lines to put them on, at least.
I don’t know how it was fine to fire Tippett after really one bad season but we should expect Crawford to be back? Or Huddy for that matter. Why isn’t HE being talked about here? Your defense is THAT horrible but you keep your job?
Do you really think that this team went from at least respectable defensively to completely inept? Was Zubov THAT important? Before you say yes, think about how many times he was injured but the team was still good. When he wasn’t out, you weren’t seeing 5 and 6 goals let in. The team didn’t collectively cede the blue line every damn rush. I mean EVERY RUSH. What happened to a little checking?
Fistric has been great, Robidas needs work and needs to stay in position instead of going for the hit sometimes, but he is clearly a great player. That’s about it this season. I don’t believe that the talent level isn’t there- it’s motivation and it is the system. If you don’t trust each other and don’t believe in your coach, you’re not going anywhere.
So why would you believe in your coach after this season? We should DEMAND that he stay? Why? What has he shown us?
D issues.
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember the discussion of D needs in the offseason. I also remember a great rookie D guy in the draft and we passed on him. We need a leader on D that can shore up that group. Trevor isn’t getting it done. Niskanen is having growing pains. The blue line doesn’t seem to be able to do the job right now. All that said, they have been great, ok and bad on a random basis. I wish I had all the answers, but I still can’t seem to get past that lack of movement for a couple great Dmen last year or at the trade deadline. I think we have an assistant that is supposed to be a D guru, I wish we could get some synergy worked out soon.
Zubov, Nordstrum, Boucher
your top 3 d men gone … that’s 50% of your blue line!
I never wanted Dave Tippett to leave. Now look at the great success he is having.
You can’t put the blame on Tippett for missing the playoffs that year by a few points. Numerous injuries and Avery messing up the team’s chemistry that year were major contributors to the team not making the playoffs. I’m happy for Tippett and will be cheering on the yotes if the stars don’t make the playoffs.
embarassing
someone should tell marty he is about to be traded again, so he starts playing….
ps the defense is HORRIBLE, they made the blues look like a top team
It was a must-win and they blew it. Heika thinks they need 27 more points to make the playoffs. 27 points in 18 games? Not happening.
Here's to all us girls who love hockey...and the men who play it.
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Mar 5, 2010 7:40 AM CST via mobile reply actions
Why did they wait til now
to make it official about missing the playoffs? If they had stunk it up like this right before the olympic break, we could have seen some big moves on trade deadline.
Sigh.
The only thing left to do is treasure every Mo’ ment. I wish Mike could’ve gone out hoisting another cup over his head, but it just wasn’t to be…
That effort, across the board,
was so pathetic that I refuse to even put out the energy to trash it … sort of like the Stars effort.
I was at the game
and I have to say it was one of the more embarrassing performances I’ve ever seen. Marty was just flat out awful. But whatever. Need to move on fast because the playoffs (despite the way we’re playing) are not out of reach.
As for the coaching, its like the team has just given up on the defensive end. Ever since this team moved to Dallas, they had been a defense first offense second team with Hitch and Tippet. Granted Crawford’s system is intriguing and definitely has potential, it seems like he has just forgotten about hte defensive end in hopes of scoring every time. I’ll allow some leeway because this should have been expected after they changed the philoshiphy they had for the last 10+ years, but at the same time, there need to be some changes for sure
After Fuentes blows a save and an Angels loss to the Indians:
"Angels still in first place" - UCI Halo
"Hey you know who would have gotten those 3 outs in the 9th?
Darren O’Day." - FirebatM3
LOL
They're toast
because now I’d say they need 4 very unlikely points out of the next three games to keep pace. Man they looked so weak last night.
just wondering
does anyone know if this team possesses any defiance towards Crawford?
im not trying flame on Crawford, i want to go beyond that. but given Craw’s past reputation as a bit of a psycho, motivator, hot-head, whatever. is the team just simply not responding to HIM or each other? both?
i just havent heard any rumblings coming out of the locker room. and there certainly just has to be something.
by ludwig's mullet on Mar 5, 2010 12:32 PM CST reply actions
My take...
This team has way too much offensive talent to score a goal a game. I’m starting to think that it’s the motivation of this team that’s lacking. This team has always had the underdog, grinder attitude that we all know and love and now it’s like an all star team. Yeah it’s great that you have all that talent, but you have no chemistry to keep this team on the same page. I have tickets to the Sharks game and I WILL muster up the energy put on the old black #29 and go because I know that on any given day these guys can put 4 or 5 on any team in the league, but I doubt that team is gonna show up to meet me there.
Growing pains?
The fact that Nisky can no longer hide behind Zubov has exposed the fact he’s not ready to play at this level. He’s had plenty of time to mature, but he no longer has a mentor or elite player to cover up inadequate play.
The guy needs a change of scenery, whether it’s on another team or in the AHL. Management should stop pushing the experiment. It no longer works, and it’s high time to give up. Hopefully Larsen makes the club next year, forcing Nisky out.
Exactly
I get so tired every time I hear Joe that the defense just needs time to grow into their jobs. How long has Niskanen been at the NHL level now? He made his debut October 3, 2007. That’s almost three full seasons he’s been with the Stars. Just how long does he need to grow into his job? Enough is enough. Send him down and if he gets picked up on the waiver wire by another team (who would want him right now?), so be it.
still
he’s young and it’s well known that Defensemen begin to really excell at age 26-28.
yea he frustrates the living hell out of me. but i still dont want to dump him for the sake of dumping him. now if some secret billionaire swoopes in and buys the team tonight, then yea…let’s go out and get some talent! but that’s not happening.
what else can the team do? bring up some AHL’ers? that isnt improving the situation. they are truly in a bind.
by ludwig's mullet on Mar 5, 2010 3:35 PM CST up reply actions
Right now, the way the defense has played the last two games, I don't know that the AHLers would be much worse (I know, famous last words again)
Nisky made the roster right out of training camp – no time in the AHL except for a few games at the end of the 06-07 season as part of a profession tryout contract after he left college. He probably would have benefited from time in the minors first. Everyone should have know he wasn’t going to have Zubie around forever to mentor him (or to cover up his mistakes) and there seems to have been no plan in place to bring him along after that.
This is Trevor Daley’s fifth season (he’s 26). What’s his excuse? At least he has spent time in the minors. He’s been almost as frustrating as Nisky.
Niskanen's struggles
are the reason you don’t want yo have Larsen make the team straight out of camp. Some time in the AHL would be good for him.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Defending Big D
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Trending Topics: Odd arbitration decisions; more NHLers Tweeting
- Ovechkin wins fifth Kharlamov Trophy, talks Talbot
- Puck Headlines: Witt hits waivers; Kovalchuk grievance details set
- Jersey Fouls: Sharks get creatively awful; hockey movie pass/fail
- White, Flames agree to one-year deal; Bruins sign Wheeler
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
