What: Dallas Stars @ Phoenix Coyotes

When: Saturday, February 18, 2012

Time: 6:00 p.m. CST

Where: Frankie's Sports Bar (Lewisville)

The Dallas Stars kicked off their post-All-Star break with a very convincing win last night over the Anaheim Ducks. As the season rolls along, each game takes on more intensity as the Stars will look to make the post season for the first time in three seasons. With that intensity comes the desire to be amongst those of your kind that live, eat, breathe Dallas Stars hockey. We'll get together to show our support for the team we all love and be around those die-hard fanatics called Stars fans.

At Frankie's in Lewisville, we'll have our own room for Stars hockey viewing pleasure. I've been guaranteed the best service available, and if you've never met the owner of the Frankie's franchise, you'll be happy to know he's a Stars fanatic:

Come on out to Frankie's Sports Bar in Lewisville to watch the Dallas Stars take on the Phoenix Coyotes Saturday, February 18th! You can find maps to the location on this handy Google map. Several of the Defending Big D crew will be present for the night, and we'd love to meet you all. Lively discussion, debates, cheering and general good times to be had by all. Don't be shy!

Not close enough to you to make it? Let us know where you'd like the March watch party to be held in the comments.

It feels as if it's been longer than just a week but the Dallas Stars finally return to the ice tomorrow night in Anaheim. They'll be doing so with a full roster of 23, as healthy as they've been since the start of the season and even have eight healthy defensemen on the current roster.

The Stars also sit in 10th place in the conference, likely to change after tonight's games. With just 34 games remaining this season, the Stars have limited amount of time in order to turn things around after a disappointing January. While 10th place sounds bad, the Stars are just three points out of 8th and eight points behind division-leading San Jose.

So, what are your expectations for the rest of the season? Do you expect the Stars to figure it out and make a legitimate push for the playoffs? Or do they succumb to the expectations of so many at the beginning of the season?

We've laid out our thoughts, how the Stars have some serious adjustments to make to have an actual chance at making the postseason. There's even the thought that while making the playoffs this season is important, throwing out the chance at improving for the future just to make the playoffs this year is not exactly the best idea.

So...what's your take?

The Dallas Stars will be hosting their biggest and best Hockey & Heels event yet on Thursday, February 23 from 6-8 pm.

When you arrive at the American Airlines Center that evening, you'll be greeted with free valet parking. You'll enter the AAC where you'll walk a red carpet onto the ice and have your picture taken in the star the Dallas Stars usually skate through to enter the ice. The event night will have a free wine tasting with wines from Clos du Bois, a fashion show, and a hockey 101 session with former Star Brent Severyn which is sure to be quite entertaining! Then, other NHL alumni will be doing on-ice demonstrations for elements of the game. The American Airlines Center is hosting Hockey & Heels for the first time in Stars history on a "dark day" when neither the Stars nor the Dallas Mavericks play at home. This means you'll be treated to a tour of the Dallas Stars locker room, a rare glimpse into the inner sanctum of Stars hockey.

You get to participate in all of those events, plus get a chance to win some fabulous prizes, for only $70! Every ticket purchased for the Hockey & Heels event provides you with two plaza (lower level) tickets to the March 8 game versus the San Jose Sharks. Each person is automatically entered to win a chance for a once in a lifetime meet and greet with Stars winger Adam Burish. Boardwalk Audi is also giving away a weekend with one of their vehicles and you'll have a chance to win other exciting prizes throughout the evening.

So ladies, gather your girlfriends for a fantastic and fun girls night out. Gentlemen, a ticket to this event would make a perfect Valentine's Day gift for that special lady in your life - plus, you can have her take you as her date for the March 8th game!

For details on where to purchase tickets for this great event and a look at the snazzy official flyer, follow the jump.

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What: 2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition

When: January 28, 2012

Time: 6:00 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn will compete in the Skills Challenge Relay in the one timer portion, the accuracy shooting competition, as well as the elimination shootout. Which event(s) would you have chosen Benn to participate in if you were captain? Which one of the events he's involved in do you think he's most likely to win? You can see the lineups for each competition here.

If there's one thing I've learned from talking to Dallas Stars fans since Reebok got the NHL uniform contract and came out with the "Edge Uniform System," it's that most fans generally don't much care for the current sweaters worn by the team. Admittedly, the player t-shirts are pretty slick and I own a few of them, but the design seems to translate better to a black tshirt than it does to a hockey uniform.

Most fans were upset to learn that Reebok and the Stars claimed that the previous "Star-shaped" template would not fit onto the new "Edge" uniform cut, meaning that the uniforms worn to skate the Cup around Marine Midland Arena were no longer viable options... but does that mean they had to get radical?

I've asked Stars fans, and the community here at Defending Big D, what they'd like to see in a Dallas Stars uniform design. The answers are simple. Green. Our primary logo on the chest. Traditional striping. Stars fans hate the all-gold helmet sticker from a few years ago, and they don't love the black/gold/white concept of the home jersey as a whole.

With that in mind, I came up with some different uniform designs for our Dallas Stars. In part two of this mini-series of posts, I present the latest tweaks to the designs that got the most love in the first wave of creation. Who knows, considering the Ottawa Senators recently unveiled a fan-designed alternate sweater that was backed by their fan base, maybe we can hope for a little Gaglardi magic, and see these on the ice some day?

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What: 2012 NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft

When: January 26, 2012

Time: 7:00 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Will Jamie Benn go last? That seems to be the big debate, as Benn makes his All-Star Game debut for what we are sure will be many, many more appearances. There will be another "Fantasy Draft' tonight, as the captains choose the teams they want and there seems to be a high probability that Benn, quiet and unassuming, will go last -- and get the big prize for being the "winner".

It was fun to see last year and it was a great chance to see the players unleash their personalities; hopefully it's just as fun this year and we get to see Benn's personality come through a bit more.

Here's the first "video blog" by Benn, just put up by the Dallas Stars.

If there's one thing I've learned from talking to Dallas Stars fans since Reebok got the NHL uniform contract and came out with the "Edge Uniform System," it's that most fans generally don't much care for the current sweaters worn by our team. Admittedly, the player t-shirts are pretty slick and I own a few of them, but the design seems to translate better to a black tshirt than it does to a hockey uniform.

Most fans were upset to learn that Reebok and the Stars claimed that the previous "Star-shaped" template would not fit onto the new "Edge" uniform cut, meaning that the uniforms worn to skate the Cup around Marine Midland Arena were no longer viable options... but does that mean we have to get radical?

I've asked Stars fans, and the community here at Defending Big D, what they'd like to see in a Dallas Stars uniform design. The answers are simple. Green. Our primary logo on the chest. Traditional striping. Stars fans hate the all-gold helmet sticker from a few years ago, and they don't love the black/gold/white concept of the home jersey as a whole.

With that in mind, I came up with four different uniform designs for our Dallas Stars. Using your feedback, I plan to narrow those 4 into 2 designs, fine-tune the designs to the specifications of the community, and see if we can come up with a consensus on a single uniform set, together.

Who knows, considering the Ottawa Senators recently unveiled a fan-designed alternate sweater that was backed by their fan base, maybe we can hope for a little Gaglardi magic, and see these on the ice some day?

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The Dallas Stars Casino Night is the premiere fundraising event of the season for the Dallas Stars Foundation, raising money for many of the charitable initiatives the team supports. It's a night where fans dress to impress and see Stars players, coaches and staff in a fun and entertaining environment.

As guests arrived at Park Place Mercedes-Benz Grapevine, they walked the red carpet where your photo is taken in front of a sponsored backdrop (much like awards shows and parties celebrities go to.) Upon entering the dealership, you were greeted by the Dallas Stars Ice Girls and checked in to get your bidder number and your casino money.

The Stars had a silent auction set up, with many fantastic prizes available to be bid on. Not only were there signed jerseys from all members of the Stars team, there were also signed sticks from several players, getaway packages for a trip to New York to see an Islanders game or a "staycation" at Hotel ZaZa in Dallas. Different experiences were available to be bid on by guests attending, and the best part is all money raised goes to charity. So you get to do something for yourself and for charity all in one convenient place!

More on the Casino Night experience after the jump.

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