A couple of news and notes out there this morning but nothing earth shattering. Chris Conner was recalled from Peoria and there were a few significant games last nght in the NHL.
Mike Heika goes over the cap space the Stars will have now with the Richards injury, but more importantly he delves into the internal budget the Stars set for themselves. This could prevent Dallas from making a move at the trade deadline.
Daryl Reaugh takes a look at how Marty Turco has put the team on his back over the past four games, and gives us yet another incredible quote.
When it comes to vacuuming up slop, dirt and accidents Dyson and Hoover have nothing on Marty Turco’s goaltending right now.
Tobias Stephan improved to 4-0-0 in the AHL and has pretty decent numbers (1.93, .921) in those games as well. Mark Stepneski notes that Stephan could return to Dallas sometime this week.
Brad Richards is being optimistic about his recovery and looks to return to the team as soon as possible.
"I'm going to prepare myself for the best," said the 28-year-old center, who ranks second on the Stars in scoring with 48 points. "I've never been through anything like this before, so I know it's going to be tough. But I watch someone like Brenden [Morrow], and I see how hard he's working, and I'm going to take the same approach."
Heika also notes in the article how the four of the top seven highest-paid players on the Stars are now out long-term with injuries, with $21 million between them in salary.
Follow the jump for a look at the standings following last night's games.
| # | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GF | GA | HOME | AWAY | L10 | ||
| 1 | SAN JOSE* | 55 | 38 | 8 | 9 | 85 | 192 | 137 | 24-2-3 | 14-6-6 | 4-2-4 | |
| 2 | DETROIT* | 57 | 37 | 12 | 8 | 82 | 215 | 168 | 20-4-3 | 17-8-5 | 6-3-1 | |
| 3 | CALGARY* | 57 | 33 | 18 | 6 | 72 | 181 | 169 | 20-7-4 | 13-11-2 | 4-4-2 | |
| 4 | CHICAGO | 55 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 72 | 186 | 140 | 15-4-5 | 17-11-3 | 7-3-0 | |
| 5 | VANCOUVER | 57 | 28 | 21 | 8 | 64 | 173 | 166 | 14-11-4 | 14-10-4 | 6-2-2 | |
| 6 | DALLAS | 56 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 63 | 169 | 174 | 16-7-4 | 12-14-3 | 7-3-0 | |
| 7 | EDMONTON | 57 | 29 | 24 | 4 | 62 | 161 | 175 | 13-11-3 | 16-13-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 8 | COLUMBUS | 57 | 28 | 23 | 6 | 62 | 155 | 158 | 18-9-2 | 10-14-4 | 6-3-1 | |
| 9 | ANAHEIM | 58 | 28 | 25 | 5 | 61 | 163 | 166 | 15-12-3 | 13-13-2 | 5-5-0 | |
| 10 | MINNESOTA | 55 | 28 | 24 | 3 | 59 | 142 | 129 | 17-11-3 | 11-13-0 | 5-5-0 | |
| 11 | LOS ANGELES | 55 | 24 | 22 | 9 | 57 | 146 | 157 | 13-12-8 | 11-10-1 | 6-2-2 | |
| 12 | NASHVILLE | 57 | 27 | 27 | 3 | 57 | 138 | 160 | 16-11-1 | 11-16-2 | 6-4-0 | |
| 13 | ST LOUIS | 56 | 24 | 25 | 7 | 55 | 160 | 172 | 15-11-4 | 9-14-3 | 5-2-3 | |
| 14 | COLORADO | 58 | 27 | 30 | 1 | 55 | 159 | 180 | 17-14-0 | 10-16-1 | 4-6-0 | |
| 15 | PHOENIX | 58 | 25 | 28 | 5 | 55 | 146 | 178 | 16-12-2 | 9-16-3 | 1-9-0 |
Around the West:
Chicago overcomes a Steven Stamkos hat trick to beat the Tampa Bay Lighting 5-3.
Vancouver ties the game in the final minute and wins 4-3 in a shootout over Calgary.
The San Jose Sharks do the Stars a favor and beat Edmonton 4-2.
Next game: Edmonton @ Dallas; Thursday, February 19, 7:30 PM CST