Stargazing: Texas Stars Fall in Game 4; James Neal Scores OT Winner For Pens

AnIt was another rough night for the Texas Stars down in Cedar Park who lost game four in front what was now doubt a big home crowd Wednesday night. The Stars had a chance to go up three games to one over Milwaukee but could not find the back of the net in the third to tie it up. They'll have a shot at taking the series lead back to Milwaukee with them with game five on Friday night at Cedar Park Center.

The good news is that Scott Glennie scored what we've heard is a beauty of a goal, his first professional goal, first AHL goal, etc. Congratulations to the young man and 8th overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft. [Check out Hundred Degree hockey for more]

It was a Stars heavy night in the NHL playoffs as James Neal scored the winner for the Penguins in OT and Mike Modano finally got himself in the action (and looked better as the game went on), but of more immediate concern to Stars fans are the concerns of the Phoenix Coyotes: Was that the final game played in Glendale? How would that change things in the division? Do you want to see the Avalanche two times more a season? That was hard to watch from the view point of a fan. The walk down the stairs in Glendale for the die hards must have been the hardest of their lives. I really and truly feel for them, even if hockey isn't profitable in Phoenix and maybe never will be. I hope they get a chance to find out.

By the way, NHL.com... "Neal in the Coffin"? Really? ....Really?

Lots of stuff to get to this morning...

• We heard Scott Glennie's goal was sweet last night...James Neal's...not so much. He threw a prayer from a bad angle toward the net and Roloson, after a monster performance, had a brain fart. It's only Neal's second goal since being traded on February 21st. [Pro Hockey Talk]
• In other former Stars news, all around awesome dude Jeff Halpern is set to return to the Canadiens lineup and this is a good read on him. [NHL.com]
• Here's a brief take on Tom Gaglardi from a Vancouver news source. Two funny things. First: "In March 2009, Stars owner Hicks Sports Group, which also owns MLB's Texas Rangers, defaulted on more than half a billion in loans." Actually, no. They don't own the Texas Rangers. They end with this, because all Canadians think when they hear of American hockey teams changing hands is relocation evidently: "NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said the Stars will remain in Dallas." [metronews.ca] Brilliant.
• Ralph Strangis doesn't know how, but he knows the league needs to keep their stars on the ice and address this headshot thing more seriously. [dallasstars.com] What we really need is weekly Ralphie columns, not the five or six times a year thing he's got going on now.
• Bob Mckenzie (TSN) thinks Loui Eriksson could be a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy this year. Of course, he also spells Eriksson "Erikkson" just to underline how under the radar Loui is, I guess? [Twitter]
• From one Twitter account to another...where is Brad Richards spending his summer? Tampa Bay, evidently. Let the conspiracy theorists go to work on that... [Brad Richards Twitter]
• Here's Hundred Degree Hockey with the recap of the Texas Stars game.[HDH]
• And Mr. Stepneski with his take over at ESPN Dallas. [ESPN Dallas]