Dallas Stars Daily Links: Benn Wraps Up All-Star Weekend

Jamie Benn might not have come home from the 2012 All-Star festivities with a car, but the Dallas Stars had a weekend to remember regardless.

Fresh off his appendectomy, the 22-year-old was one of the stars of Saturday's skills competition and played a little more than 14 minutes as Team Chara defeated Team Alfredsson 12-9 in Ottawa.

Although Benn didn't have any points or shots in the game, he said the experience was definitely memorable.

He singled out playing with linemates Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks and Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers as one of the best parts.

"It was pretty unbelievable," Benn said. "The amount of talent these players have, it’s crazy. I just hope I’ll be fortunate enough to play in another All-Star Game. ... Just taking it in, the weekend we had. It was pretty special. Just meeting the guys, it was a good group of guys. Hopefully, I can do it again."

After the jump, more on Jamie Benn's adventures in Ottawa, Scot Hartnell is worming his way into my cold, dead little heart and Brian Burke needs to learn to ignore Don Cherry even with the amazing technicolor suits.

• Appropriately, most of the Stars news from the past few days revolves around Mr. Benn. Here's a paywalled story from the Morning News that starts with an amusing quote from brother Jordie Benn. [DallasNews.com]
• Poor Jamie Benn. No points, a minus-1 and the recipient of the only registered hit on the game from Scott Hartnell. Well, at least we know he can take contact, eh? [Slam!Sports]
• If you missed how the game went, here's a recap from our friends north of the border. [TSN]
• I can't say I agree with all the key points that this author brings up as keys to success in the second half of the Stars season, especially because at least one of them is completely up to the injury gods. But it is a worthwhile read. [WFAA]
  
• If you're looking for things to watch this week, the Stars game against the Anaheim Ducks as well as four other contests make this list of games to watch. [The Globe and Mail]
  
• If you're confused about what the heck people might mean when they talk about Sidney Crosby and a C1 and C2 neck injury, Jo Innes lays out in pretty clear terms what we know and what some of the implications could be. [Backhand Shelf]
• I'm not a huge fan of Don Cherry, but even I'm aware he's basically doing a bit every time he goes on the air. Brian Burke of the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, is apparently taking things a little more personally than I think is really necessary. [Ottawa Sun]
• Around the Pacific Division: I love stat-nerding as much as anyone, but I admit my eyes glazed over about two paragraphs into this fairly comprehensive analysis of playoff probability by our friends over at Fear The Fin. Still, just from glancing over it, it looks like a bit of positive news for Stars fans. [Fear the Fin]
  
• After Carey Price and his delightful take on the NHL Skills Competition, Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers might have been my favorite personality at the All-Star game. He donated money to charity and got to chirp Dion Phaneuf on live TV. But the best part of this article, at least to me, is the strange Stepford Twins vibe I got from the Daniel Sedin quote. If you didn't already suspect that he and Henrik Sedin were really two bodies with one brain, you should now. [Puck Daddy]
  

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