Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Stars Are As Excited About The Winter Classic As You Are

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]

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Stars Stuff

Will Jamie Benn join the fray tonight against the Washington Capitals?

No supplemental discipline for Miles Wood, the New Jersey Devils player who put Benn in this situation to begin with.

ICYMI, the Stars have called up some injury insurance in the form of RW Erik Condra.

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...

...but speaking of that story, Segs answered some big questions during his regular segment on The Ticket.

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?

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.

Team Canada can learn a lot from its stunning loss to Finland in the 2019 World Juniors, writes Gemma Karstens-Smith.

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.

And speaking of AHL All-Stars, this video should give some insight into Gury’s selection.

Finally

I’ll just leave this here. File under “daily Miro Heiskanen hype,” with a side of Gavin Bayreuther for spice. Enjoy.