As part of our look back at the season that was, the DBD staff has put together a Top 10 list of the best moments of the season, moments that occurred within the course of the year that were highlights of this particular team and it’s fight to the playoffs. They’re ranked from 1-10, and we’ll present them in reverse order, leading up to the top moment of the 2013-2014 season.
Realignment this season was a bittersweet proposition for most Dallas Stars fans.
While 9 PM CST start times would be lessened without the interdivision play against the likes of the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks was seen as a positive, the competitiveness of the Stars’ new division looked to negate that feeling. Going from arguably the hardest division pre-realignment to arguably the hardest division post-realignment didn’t give a lot of confidence for the Stars to be able to make the playoffs this season. (Boy, did I love being wrong there!)
With realignment came the opportunity to forge new rivalries within this division. It would seem that the Chicago Blackhawks have a reason to dislike playing their new mates the Stars, a new curse for these matchups: Antoine Roussel.
Roussel always plays with an edge to his game. Sometimes, he steps over the line and many a Stars fan is quick to recognize when it happens and not condone it. But at other times, his agitation rides the line just right and the result on the opposing players is what makes him such a fan favorite.
On a December Tuesday night, that line was where Roussel was riding and the Blackhawks really didn’t enjoy it.
After a patented dumb penalty (this time an elbow on Jonathan Toews) Roussel answered the bell when Andrew Shaw came calling. The tide of the game changed, and the Stars coughed up a three goal lead. It looked to be another loss against the high-flying Hawks.
Then, in a fun twist of fate, Roussel — the one who had been getting under the skin of the Hawks players all game long — was awarded a penalty shot. He would score, and it would stand as the game winning goal after another awesome Kari Lehtonen display in net.
This penalty shot goal encapsulates Roussel’s style that fits so well in Dallas. The depth scoring touch he’s added since he arrived. The brashness. The “don’t care” attitude towards what others think about him.
The Stars have a new player that every other teams’ fanbase loves to hate, and this most assuredly did not endear him to the Chicago fans that night in December.
But that is why Stars fans love the Rooster.