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Some regular-season games are just more special than others. And as it turns out, the Dallas Stars are looking forward to the 2020 Winter Classic as much as any fans are.
Saad Yousuf of The Athletic DFW talked to some good Canadian boys (and others) about how playing outside resonates with their formative hockey memories:
“It was a blast,” [Devin] Shore said of his childhood days playing outdoors. “We had a rink growing up always, and that’s where you learn to play the game and fall in love with it.”
Head coach Jim Montgomery — who coached an outdoor game at Coors Field on Feb 20, 2016, at the University of Denver in front of an NCHC-record crowd of 35,144 — shared similar sentiments.
“I just remember playing on outdoor rinks and there were parks in Montreal so it wasn’t like on a lake or something,” Montgomery said. “You just played. That’s where you played eight against eight and learned how to give and go, that’s what I remember. Frozen toes and hot chocolate after.”
Skeptics may worry about how Texas weather will affect the NHL’s first Southern Winter Classic. But John Klingberg’s last outdoor game, in his hometown of Gothenburg, shows that even Swedish weather can disappoint:
“It was just a disaster because it was raining so much so during warmups, there was water everywhere and guys were falling because there was so much water,” Klingberg recalled. “It was just bad weather and it was half-empty because it rained so much.”
There’s more under the paywall. [The Athletic DFW]
Stars Stuff
Will Jamie Benn join the fray tonight against the Washington Capitals?
Monty: "I am hopeful for Jamie Benn for (Friday) night. We'll see." https://t.co/XranyPcPd5
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 4, 2019
No supplemental discipline for Miles Wood, the New Jersey Devils player who put Benn in this situation to begin with.
There will be no further discipline from the league for New Jersey’s Miles Wood for his hit on Jamie Benn last night. It was a late hit, but not to the head and not exceptionally predatory.
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) January 3, 2019
ICYMI, the Stars have called up some injury insurance in the form of RW Erik Condra.
#txstars leading scorer Erik Condra is headed to the NHL to join the Dallas Stars, while Tony Calderone returns to the club from Idaho.
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) January 3, 2019
Read: https://t.co/yKgrmpFxNR pic.twitter.com/kXMXiXdz0I
Don’t look now, but the Stars have three – three! – D-men in NHL.com’s top 50 fantasy rankings. (You will be graded pass-fail on whether you chose Esa Lindell.) [NHL]
The Benn-Tyler Seguin duo may have taken a hit in fantasy value...
#FantasyHockey top 100 forwards: Seven Golden Knights on list with addition of Stastny and Pirri, Hayes joins mix for Rangers, Seguin-Benn duo has buy-low appeal for Stars and full rankings via @NHLJensenhttps://t.co/sHkSJluqns
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) January 2, 2019
...but speaking of that story, Segs answered some big questions during his regular segment on The Ticket.
Highly recommend: Today's edition of the Tyler Seguin show - his thoughts and reactions to the story on everyone's mind - https://t.co/GhqrM1g6O3
— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) January 3, 2019
Around The League(s)
Appointment With #Death
- Collin Delia made 47 saves, but the Chicago Blackhawks gave up an early lead and lost 3-2 in OT to the New York Islanders. [Second City Hockey]
- The St. Louis Blues took a short break from a tough season to put a hurt on the Caps, 5-2. [Japers’ Rink]
- And the Minnesota Wild won a rare weekday game, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on a Zach Parise tiebreaker. [Hockey Wilderness]
Not even a loss could take away this big moment for Mitch Marner – who set a Leafs franchise record by scoring seven seconds into the game.
Also, Tom Wilson, I think this may have been the point of those suspensions, so...progress?
Honest talk with Tom Wilson today. Says it’s gotten to the point he’d rather not make a hit in fear of it being considered illegal. Says it’s 100% in his head throughout a hockey game. Also said he’ll be sitting out pre-season games against the #stlblues moving forward #allcaps
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) January 3, 2019
The Vancouver Canucks lost more than the game to the Montreal Canadiens last night. Newly minted All-Star Elias Pettersson left with a lower-body injury after an awkward tangle with fellow rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
From @GlennSchiiler & @PierreVLeBrun: A look at the play that led to Elias Pettersson’s injury and examining the stellar play of Carey Price against the #Canucks https://t.co/Dj6rah3SvU #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/g1jTwixXM6
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) January 4, 2019
Team Canada can learn a lot from its stunning loss to Finland in the 2019 World Juniors, writes Gemma Karstens-Smith.
Heartbreaking loss a learning experience for Canadian junior hockey team https://t.co/w1wseXyZEl pic.twitter.com/x8R6VrDTbW
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) January 3, 2019
Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park
What a journey 2018 turned out to be for Denis Gurianov. Sean Shapiro takes a look at the Texas Stars’ newest All-Star, who’s coming into his own even as we speak.
Denis Gurianov was a healthy scratch in the Texas Stars' biggest games this spring. He's now our No. 1 prospect in the entire organization.@seanshapiro walks you through the forward's incredible progress this season and how he projects in the NHL.https://t.co/WZtaEl1KCJ…
— The Athletic (@TheAthleticDFW) December 28, 2018
And speaking of AHL All-Stars, this video should give some insight into Gury’s selection.
Attention #AHLAllStar Classic
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) January 3, 2019
Goalies:
Denis Gurianov: pic.twitter.com/yanSJerjyj
Finally
I’ll just leave this here. File under “daily Miro Heiskanen hype,” with a side of Gavin Bayreuther for spice. Enjoy.
Top 10 #NHL rookie defensemen: Points
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) January 3, 2019
Dahlin BUF 20
Heiskanen DAL 19
Cholowski DET 14
Lajoie OTT 13
Jokiharju CHI 11
Pettersson PIT 8
Cernak TB 7
Bayreuther DAL 5
Jaros OTT 5
Juulsen MTL 5
Simek SJ 5 pic.twitter.com/W6GndzdMWz