Stars Ups & Downs: Week 18

The Stars spent last week in each line of the standings with a win against Chicago, a shootout loss to the Coyotes and a plain 'ol regular loss to the Blue Jackets.  For some it made for a bad three game home stand while for others it was maybe as good as one can expect from this team at the moment.

Opinion about just where this team is really at and how good - or bad - they are seems to change from fan to fan and we kind of expect the same differing opinions about this week's edition of Ups and Downs...

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Kari Lehtonen		A nice rebound week for him overall. His play against Phoenix and Columbus deserved more than the loss and shootout loss that he was stuck with.
Andrew Raycroft		Can't give a score if he doesn't play right?
Defensemen
Trevor Daley		He's at the very least trying to generate offense from the back end and isn't getting caught out of position in doing so.
Mark Fistric		Getting caught chasing the puck a few too many times.  He really should focus on taking out his man more often than not.
Nicklas Grossman		Would love to see more 'bull rushes' to the net like he made against Phoenix.. Sadly is now the latest added to the injury list after Sunday.
Matt Niskanen		Healthy scratch for all three games.  Will get a chance to play this week due to injuries and it may be his last chance to keep a regular lineup spot.
Stephane Robidas		Had an off night against the Coyotes, but was very good in the next two games.
Karlis Skrastins		Steady and solid as always.
Jeff Woywitka		He's physical and he at least gets two or three shots a game all without putting himself out of position.  Easily the biggest surprise the Stars have had this year.
Forwards
Loui Eriksson		Cooled off a little this past week with only one assist.
Aaron Gagnon		Really didn't have much ice time and didn't do anything with what he got although he seemed a little more involved during the Columbus game.
Jamie Langenbrunner		His horrible month of February continues...
Brenden Morrow		The hard-nosed physical play is there, now it would be nice to see some more points put on the board.
James Neal		Neal's slump hasn't been nearly as bad as say Langenbrunner's, but his run of bad luck and lack of confidence with the puck has been almost amazing to see nightly.
Steve Ott		Nightly the Stars best face-off guy and is cementing role as one of the league best scoring agitators if not the outright best right now.
Mike Ribeiro		It's the same thing every week... Lots of creativity but no results.
Brad Richards		Three goals and one assist after I figured he was starting to fade and fatigue out.. I'll gladly shut my mouth now.
Brian Sutherby		Followed a poor game against the Coyotes with two decent efforts over the weekend.
Tomas Vincour		Great debut week for the kid that has media and fans alike raving.
Tom Wandell		Looked great on a line with Ott and Vincour all week using his speed to complement Ott and Vincour's checking.
Francis Wathier		Very much looked like a rookie the last few games as he's been caught out of position a handful of times.  Needs to remember to keep his feet moving and active at all times.
Jason Williams		Was neither horrible nor was good in his first game with the Stars on Sunday.