What They're Saying is a quick rundown of clips and quotes from aroung the interweb.
Mark Stepneski gives his thoughts on the Stars going, once again, into overtime.
Although the Stars continue to give opponents points in these OT games, the more important factor is that they are winning a majority them and getting the two points. Nine of their last 14 games have gone to OT and they’ve won six of those nine and that’s helped give them an 8-3-3 record in the overall 14-game stretch. That’s 19 of a possible 28 points in their column.
While it is great that the Stars have a nifty record the past month after a horrendous start, at some point this team will have to figure out how to finish a team off in regulation. These extra points will come back to haunt them in a few months when the playoff race really begins to heat up. However, the Stars did play a solid all-around game with just a few hiccups and that is something to build off moving forward.
Even though they gave up the late goal and went to overtime once again, I thought the Stars played a pretty solid game Saturday afternoon. It was a pretty consistent effort over the course of the entire game against against a Kings team that can be a tough nut to crack. They have become a very good defensive team under Terry Murray, have a top ten penalty kill and don’t give teams a lot most nights. The Stars had some good chances, but Erik Ersberg was very good in net for the Kings.
The tricky problem for the Stars as they try to crawl back into the playoff picture is they need contributions from everybody – but they need really big contributions from the superstars. It's a challenging request but one the team seemed able to fulfill Saturday in a 3-2 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings. Yes, role players were solid, and the team as a whole won the statistical battle, but the key to the victory was big days from Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen. Each had a goal and an assist in regulation, and Ribeiro won the game with the only goal of the shootout.
When we scored the goal, the call they made there is unfortunate. That one that Steve Ott had go against him was because he's Steve Ott. That should have never turned into a 4-on-4 situation. I thought they should have had a penalty on it ... but that's a huge advantage because their goaltender comes out and it's a 5-on-4 power play. That's a big play in the game.
Getting five of six points on this homestand is a good start if we want to start climbing the standings. I thought we had the better of the quality scoring chances. I liked the way we stayed with the game after we got down and kept coming back.
It was great to see Lehts score with the way he's been around it. He's had great chances the last two or three games and eventually it's going to go in for him. His goals, there's not many that are gimmies, his are hard-working goals.
It felt good… I wanted to make sure to at least get a shot on net. Goalies don’t really know what I’m going to do, and neither do I. I decided to shoot it. We should’ve won in regulation, but the two points are the most important thing.
Jere Lehtinen:
It’s pretty fun, but it would be easier to get the wins in regular time. The other team got a point, so that’s not good, but at least it’s a win. They play hard, they defend pretty well in their zone, they play five guys down low, and it’s hard to find spots to score goals.
Marty Turco on Lehtinen:
His work ethic is second to none. For him to produce offensively is no surprise. He has the uncanny ability to put pressure on other players, forcing turnovers and doing things you can’t teach. He’s a special player and we’re fortunate to have him.
Andrew's Dallas Stars Page has put up the clip of Mike Ribeiro on The Ticket's post-game show. Some good stuff from Ribs, especially when he talks about how goalies were catching up to his fancy shootout shenanigans.
Next Game: Monday 1/19; 6:30p CST; Dallas Stars @ Tampa Bay Lightning,