You may be saying to yourself: "Self, I don't recall seeing an 'Ups And Downs" on Defending Big D last week" and I'd say to you in response that you are correct. The past week or so, we've been quite busy with trade rumors, trades that actually happened and wondering just what the heck was wrong with this team that we didn't even bother to do an edition of 'U&D's" because - well lets be honest - riding a five game losing streak there wasn't much "up" to be had.
This past week though has been a different story as individual players have turned around their game and the Stars now ride a three game win streak. After the jump, we take a look at those that have helped (or held back) the recent improvement in the Stars fortunes.
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Kari Lehtonen |  |
Each of the last four games he's been stellar and if not for Razor's bad karma (yeah, that's what we'll blame it on) he'd have a pair of shutouts at least! |
| Andrew Raycroft |  |
Has the coaching staff lost all confidence in him or is Kari's hot play pushed Andrew out of the way? Either way gotta imagine he'll get a start at some point this weekend right? |
| Defensemen | ||
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Trevor Daley |
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Still managing to pile up shots and doing well on the rush. Less pressure on him to be 'the offensive defenseman' now should help him relax. |
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Mark Fistric |
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Fistric's game has been much better compared to recent weeks. Still needs to be aware of where he is and where the man he's covering is. |
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Alex Goligoski |
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May not be causing fans to go "James Who?" quite yet, but is really looking to be the tonic that ailed the Stars defense. |
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Stephane Robidas |
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Less pressure on Robi to be "the man" in the Stars D has helped his game out quite a bit. |
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Karlis Skrastins |
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Usually gets 2 or 3 blocked shots a game.. Had 5 in the game against the Coyotes. More of a return to form for him. |
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Jeff Woywitka |
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He's getting power play time, but it may be because he's the best option over Fistric and Skrastins. Once Nik Grossman returns, is Jeff the odd man out? |
| Forwards | ||
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Krys Barch |
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Only played a handful of minutes in the last three Stars games, but when he's on the ice he's hitting and providing a spark. Goal against Detroit was very clutch as well. |
| Jamie Benn | |
At times looks like a men playing among boys... Scary thought (for opposing teams that is) of course is that he himself at the age of 22 still has room and time to get even better. |
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Adam Burish |
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I'll be honest, I completely underestimated how much his energy and passion meant to the Stars until he returned to the lineup. The Stars are a different (and better team) with him in. |
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Loui Eriksson |
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Has busted out of his slump in a big way with points in his last three games. |
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Aaron Gagnon |
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Has steadily declined in weeks and shown he's not quite ready to be an NHL regular. |
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Jamie Langenbrunner |
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Looking more comfortable in his role with the Stars. Thankfully with the team starting to win, we don't have to hear about that stupid "Langenbrunner jinx" Devils fans were going on about. |
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Brenden Morrow |
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Playing hard, gritty hockey while piling up assists. Still, it'd be nice to see the odd goal thrown in for good measure. |
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Steve Ott |
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Same as Morrow. Good, physical play and picking up assists, but a goal or two wouldn't hurt. |
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Toby Petersen |
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Toby's worth to the Stars penalty kill unit should not be understated. |
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Mike Ribeiro |
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Looks to be more involved in the game than he had in the past... A sign his confidence with the puck is starting to return? |
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Brian Sutherby |
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Actually didn't play too poorly against the Devils but has been a healthy scratch ever since. |
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Tomas Vincour |
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Is so due for a goal it's not even funny. Keeps working hard though. His play and impressing of coaches and management may have opened the way for the Goligoski deal as he looks to be a keeper. |
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Tom Wandell |
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The scoring touch has returned as in the last two games has been the offensive fire-starter for the club. |
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Jason Williams |
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Only one point in the last four games and while playing well, is still looking like he's not fully comfortable on the ice with his new team. Showing signs though it's going to happen. |