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The Dallas Stars avenged last week’s 5-1 road loss to the San Jose Sharks with all deliberate speed, as it were: shutting down the Sharks’ offense and staying sharp in their own end to win 1-0 in the first of two games in the AAC this week.
Stars fans may have asked themselves where this performance came from, and why it showed up now. Well, hey, so did Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News:
It was an intriguing performance for the 29-33-10 Stars, who'd allowed 22 goals in their previous five games. Was this a display of the pride needed to finish the season on a strong note? Or was it a sign that had this defensive play been enacted a couple of months back, the season could have been different?
Missing Jason Spezza with a back injury, the Stars are thin in the forward group. But a hard-fought game in which Dallas was able to get only 20 shots on goal seemed the perfect strategy against the deliberate Sharks.
Kari Lehtonen stopped all 30 of the shots he faced, but he also pointed out how the team in front of him contributed:
"It's been a tough year. So after a game like this, it feels especially good," Lehtonen said. "Just the way we played the whole 60 minutes. It was really cool. Guys were blocking shots and getting all the rebounds. They were making simple plays, not turning the puck over like we've had in the past, so that was nice."
There’s more at Mike’s place. [SportsDayDFW]
Elsewhere in Heika, he gave this practice update on Antoine Roussel and Mattias Janmark.
Antoine Roussel (hand) skating after practice with Mattias Janmark (knee). Neither expected to play in a game rest of year, but nice to see.
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) March 20, 2017
Julie Dobbs offered a look at Military Appreciation Night in the AAC.
A member of a suicide-prevention group for vets, 22 Kill, brought the ceremonial first puck in the maximum awesome way:
Making an entrance.
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 21, 2017
A member of 22 Kill, a veterans outreach and suicide prevention organization delivers tonight's ceremonial puck. pic.twitter.com/vAdTEomwL2
And Sean Shapiro has more of what you came for, which is a service dog rappelling from the rafters.
Dog rappelling from rafters at AAC pic.twitter.com/wIUWqy5g8y
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) March 21, 2017
Razor loves it when a fellow goalie has a good night.
Kari’s second Military Appreciation Night shutout no doubt boosted the benefit-auction value of his second camo-themed helmet. He credits Patrick Sharp hitting him in the mask during practice with “[waking] the beast.” [Wrong Side of the Red Line]
With their third straight loss, did the Sharks open the door for the rest of the Pacific Division?
The Pacific ranked by points after tonight’s results. pic.twitter.com/GH6tUVPSze
— Fear The Fin (@fearthefin) March 21, 2017
Elsewhere in the #MDK, Ryan Ellis potted two goals as the Nashville Predators defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-1. [On the Forecheck]
Cam Talbot, who has probably been the real key to the Edmonton Oilers’ rising fortunes this season, shut out the Los Angeles Kings 2-0. [USA Today]
Cam Talbot is the first @EdmontonOilers goaltender to register seven shutouts in a season since Tommy Salo (8) in 2000-01. #LAKvsEDM pic.twitter.com/ihUj5U8aIM
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 21, 2017
When the puck does go in: Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated examines how netminders reset themselves after a goal against.
Goalies must cope quickly when a puck gets past them. Here's how they do it (by @alex_prewitt) https://t.co/v3ZCpYO0LI pic.twitter.com/v91aavzq10
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) March 19, 2017
The playoffs-contending Calgary Flames will have to do without star rookie Matthew Tkachuk for two games: He picked up a suspension for elbowing the Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty. [ESPN]
Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk suspended two games for elbowing Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty. https://t.co/SZYMokSRS9
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 21, 2017
USA Hockey and the U.S. Women’s National Team appear to be making progress in their current dispute over equitable support.
Hope for agreement in U.S. women's hockey wage dispute https://t.co/oQ2ldA5WQp pic.twitter.com/vjxjIds1WS
— HockeyNightInCanada (@hockeynight) March 21, 2017
The legendary Bobby Orr celebrated his 69th birthday yesterday, and NHL.com used the occasion to share his entry among the 100 Greatest Players of All Time.
As he celebrates his 69th birthday, another look at the career of @NHLBruins icon and #NHL100 legend Bobby Orr. https://t.co/YBYcEgU339
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 20, 2017
ICYMI: Here’s how Tyler Seguin spent his weekend.
"Ever since I've touched down in Dallas, this place has been my home...I've wanted to give back to my community in any way possible." pic.twitter.com/B0CwUlNpJA
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 20, 2017
Corey Pronman is bemused and intrigued by this Julius Honka person.
Julius Honka-DAL is good at hockey pic.twitter.com/B84u8BS3Hm
— (((Corey Pronman))) (@coreypronman) March 20, 2017
Finally: Shane Hudella of the military kids’ sports organization United Heroes League offers a Stars military-night tribute of his own. Enjoy.
In honor of the @DallasStars Military Appreciation Night, I present to you the #GreatestSelfieEver
— Shane Hudella (@HudellaDTBL) March 20, 2017
Thanks for including @United_HL !! pic.twitter.com/6eNK5HsXET