Dallas Stars Daily Links: Marc Methot Meets Ottawa as a Star

Marc Methot has been back in the Dallas Stars’ lineup for eight games, and it might be easy to forget that a knee injury has limited him to only 24 so far this season. He’s rounding back into form as a sturdy defensive defenseman just in time: Tonight he’ll meet his former team, the Ottawa Senators, for the first time since being traded.

Methot still remembers playing his first game for Ottawa against the team that drafted him, the Columbus Blue Jackets, as he told Mark Stepneski. The job of shutting down former teammates who are still off-ice pals isn’t for the faint-hearted:

“It’s not easy,” he said. “You’re playing against guys you know very well. I play a hard game. It’s not like I’m going out there and handling the puck and not hitting guys. I’ve got to do my job. Again, no friends when I am on the ice.”

He also opened up about the chaos of June 2017, which saw him scooped up by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft and just as quickly offered for trade:

“At that point, the only thing I could control was my no-trade list and trying to get myself to a good team that I knew would at least be a playoff contender,” Methot said. “That’s pretty hard to do when you can only block 10 teams. But when (Stars GM) Jim Nill called, and I saw his name pop up on my phone, I had a good idea that’s where I was going, and I was so happy.”

Read the full story at the Stars website. [Stars Inside Edge]

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More Stars

That Stars-Senators game begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. CST in American Airlines Center. Taylor’s DBD preview was posted earlier this morning – you can also read Mark’s preview at the link below.

Mark also brings starting-goaltender news for the next two games:

In case you missed it, Stars digital correspondent Scott Burnside has posted his Five Takeaways from that thriller against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

And when Mike Heika sees captain Jamie Benn put a game on his back again, he can’t help but draw implications for a playoffs run.

Where does Benn’s celebration for his game-winning goal stack up against the all-time greats? Kyle Cantlon requests your input.

The stick snap has even been immortalized in cartoon form, so you know it’s awesome.

Watch for Sean Shapiro’s Alexander Radulov profile at The Athletic DFW later this morning.

Around the League(s)

A View To A #Kill

• A Filip Forsberg game-winner gave the Nashville Predators their eighth consecutive victory as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. [On The Forecheck]
• The Chicago Blackhawks ended up on the wrong end of another blowout in the Battle of California, losing to the Anaheim Ducks 6-3. [Second City Hockey]
• Devan Dubnyk bounced back from a couple of embarrassing losses as the Minnesota Wild made short work of the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Teuvo Teravainen and Jordan Staal kept it close, but the Winnipeg Jets held on for a win against the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2. [Canes Country]

Mark Stepneski reminds us that the Wild’s victory meant another shift in the Central Division standings:

Meanwhile, Connor Hellebuyck’s 34th win of the season has him tied with Kari Lehtonen for the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise record.

Ryan Lambert has posted a column on this year’s playoffs races, and why he thinks the path to the Stanley Cup for would-be spoiler teams may already be closing.

Jared Clinton examines the state of the wild-race race in both conferences. [The Hockey News]

Also at THN: The 25th anniversary of Pavel Bure’s first 50-goal season with the Vancouver Canucks provided a nice opening to revisit the first 50-goal scorers for every franchise (and to point out those who are still waiting – really, New Jersey Devils?).

Alex Ovechkin gave fans something to remember during the Washington Capitals’ Stadium Series victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He became the sixth player in league history to score 40 goals in nine seasons or more.

And the campaign to get the NHL’s first black player, Willie O’Ree, into the Hockey Hall of Fame is picking up steam.

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park

Mike McKenna made 33 stops to lead the Texas Stars to a 2-1 OT victory over their I-35 rivals, the San Antonio Rampage. [100 Degree Hockey]

Finally

Tyler Seguin stays busy in the community on his days off – and his latest projects for North Texas kids will make you smile, again, as usual. Good guy, that Seguin. Enjoy.