In this weekly feature, I look at where individuals are trending to in this handy-dandy table format. The analysis of each person is done solely by me and my observations — sometimes I do it by committee with other writers, but I’ve got the ultimate say. So if you disagree on any of these, feel free to tell me in the comments! Who doesn’t like a good ol’ hockey debate?
Three games this past week against some big opponents — the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks — and the first shutout effort against the Edmonton Oilers. Not a shabby week at all in Dallas Stars land.
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Jamie BENN |
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| Comments: Jamie Benn may be writing himself into the lineup for Team Canada at the Olympics in Sochi. If he continues playing like this, it will be hard for them not to give him consideration. | |||
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Jordie BENN |
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| Comments: Jordie Benn continues to be one of the most steadying presences on the blueline. | |||
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Alex CHIASSON |
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| Comments: Alex Chiasson has been struggling to put up points lately, and while his work on the PK has been pretty good, he’s also been losing some one-on-one battles he seemed to be winning previously. | |||
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Erik COLE |
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| Comments: Erik Cole has not been producing points while he’s bounced up and down the lineup, and his play with the puck can often be a defensive liability if he’s not on a line that can get back to support easily. | |||
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Kevin CONNAUTON |
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| Comments: Kevin Connauton still hasn’t played a game since his NHL debut, and was sent down to the Texas Stars for a conditioning assignment. | |||
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Trevor DALEY |
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| Comments: Trevor Daley is riding a three game point streak — which matches his longest consecutive game point streak from last season already. | |||
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Brenden DILLON |
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| Comments: Brenden Dillon has struggled a little bit with the puck, and his goaltender has had to bail him out for gaffes in his own end. Not his best week this week. | |||
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Cody EAKIN |
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| Comments: Cody Eakin has the only power play goal on the team in the past infinity chances (or what feels like infinity.) This helps balance out the number of times his line has been scored on in the last week. | |||
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Dan ELLIS |
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| Comments: Dan Ellis may get his first start in about 12 games tonight against Calgary. Lehtonen has started ten games straight since coming back from injury. | |||
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Vernon FIDDLER |
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| Comments: Vernon Fiddler is one of the key reasons the Stars penalty kill has been so good lately. He’s not letting the off-ice trade rumors that came out this week effect the on-ice work. | |||
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Ryan GARBUTT |
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| Comments: Ryan Garbutt has the speed and has had some chances but hasn’t been able to finish them. | |||
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Alex GOLIGOSKI |
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| Comments: Alex Goligoski has looked better on the power play at times, giving the Stars some movement of the puck from the blueline. He’s also made some very good defensive plays in his own end this past week. | |||
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Sergei GONCHAR |
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| Comments: Sergei Gonchar looks a lot more steady without Goligoski. Sometimes being apart is better than being together. | |||
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Shawn HORCOFF |
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| Comments: Shawn Horcoff looks like he’s settling in and finding a groove in Dallas. | |||
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Kari LEHTONEN |
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| Comments: Kari Lehtonen has had some spectacular save-of-the-year candidates these last couple of games. He’s in the zone. | |||
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Lane MACDERMID |
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| Comments: Lane MacDermid didn’t get a chance at getting in the lineup when Whitney went on IR. | |||
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Travis MORIN |
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| Comments: Travis Morin got just his fourth NHL start and while he didn’t play large minutes, he didn’t look out of place in his capacity either. | |||
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Valeri NICHUSHKIN |
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| Comments: Valeri Nichushkin had his point streak ended at three games when he didn’t collect a point versus Chicago. His penalty shot last night would have been great to put in the back of the net for the rookie and, more importantly, give his team a cushion to relieve some pressure. He needs to work on his moves at the NHL level still, it seems. | |||
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Rich PEVERLEY |
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| Comments: Rich Peverley has two game-winning goals in the past week and has been the catalyst for the Stars’ offense. He’s performing no matter where Ruff puts him in the lineup. | |||
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Stephane ROBIDAS |
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| Comments: Stephane Robidas has had to cover for partner Dillon’s rough puck handling at times this week, and the pair have been scored on several times because of it. I expect them to rebound like they usually do, however. | |||
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Antoine ROUSSEL |
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| Comments: Antoine Roussel had a good game versus Edmonton, creating chaos in front of Devan Dubnyk’s net to create the space Peverley needed to roof it. | |||
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Tyler SEGUIN |
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| Comments: Tyler Seguin may not have found consistency in his faceoffs yet, but his scoring touch is still there. While it was just an empty net goal, the shot he made to score it last night was very nice to see, considering how much difficulty the Stars have had scoring empty net goals last year. | |||
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Ray WHITNEY |
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| Comments: Ray Whitney went on IR this week with a lower-body injury. | |||