Comments / New

Dallas Stars Beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Retrovision 2-1: Six Easy Tweets

Posted on by David Castillo

The Dallas Stars took down the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at the Wells Fargo Center for a fairly tough win against a team that has been fairly bi-polar in recent years. Philly played fairly desperate, and Antti Niemi sealed the gates with a little spackle to earn the Stars a tie for 1st in the Central once more. How they did it in six easy tweets….

1. NBCSN Logo Trolls

True story: I’m easily amused. I love long walks on sandy beaches, the three stooges, and bad puns. For awhile, network television supplied me with an abundance of names for Create a Player on NHL 16, and so I couldn’t muster the hatred to really be invested in the political consequences of John Klingman, Dominic Roussel, Jordan Benn, and Jason Spetsnaz or whatever.

But this isn’t a bad joke. It’s just bad coverage. The network has one simple job; to communicate to the public why your product is worth watching. When you don’t even know what your product is, well then it begs the unfortunately-not-rhetorical question of how NBC suits ever learned to tell the difference between a plus and minus logo.

2. Tyler Seguin’s Goal Counter Donut Update: 3 Glazed, and 1 With Sprinkles

Seguin scored with less than a minute to go in the first period. I’ve said it several times already, but it bears repeating for the cheap seats; Seguin is as much a harbinger of goal scoring as he is of two way possession. He backchecks well when he needs to, doesn’t cherrypick, and hustles on every play. Thankfully it was only Boston who took him for granted.

3. Art Ross Brother in Arms, Jamie Benn, and the Art of Clutch

Right now Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are tied for first in points for the National Hockey League. I have no doubt that Seguin will continue to be great. With Benn, I’ve always been skeptical. No, not of his skill. He just makes it look a little too effortless. I know that sounds weird, but he’s not blazing fast or ultra flashy. He can just puck handle in a shark tank, and positions himself like a champ.

But where I’ve never been skeptical is in his ability to shine when the pressure is on. Whether the AHL run, the Olympics, the 2013-2014 playoffs, or even his Art Ross Night, I will never question his ability to play big during big moments. Let’s hope he can add the 2015-2016 playoffs to that resume.

4. Antti Niemi and The Swaying Field of Lavender

This is how Razor described goaltending as only Razor can, and Antti Niemi’s performance in particular. There’s not a whole lot to say here other than that Niemi was fantastic. While Dallas won the possession war, Philly still got into position for some very dangerous shots. Niemi ended up being the “wonderful cologne” Dallas needed.

5. Skycam: FoxTrax for People with Hyperopia

In 1994 David Hill of Fox Sports had some discussions with a chief engineer named Rick Cavallero. Both men wanted to solve hockey’s personal physics problem with a hadron collider solution; let’s make it so that people can actually see the puck from the comfort of their homes.

It turned out to be a disaster; albeit a useful one, as it set the stage for later innovations (including the first down line). However, as you can see from above, it’s hard to imagine anything innovative coming out of trying to watch sports like it’s an ant farm.

There are a lot of takeaways from this game besides the aforementioned.

Radek Faksa continues his quiet, but effective play. Simply put, he’s made for this league. Ruff’s decision to pair him with Antoine Roussel and Colton Sceviour has paid off as well; the three were positive possession players against everyone who wasn’t on the Claude Giroux, Jacub Voracek line.

Dallas finally looks like it’s no longer ‘waiting on anyone’ to start pulling their weight. Everyone is contributing. How long this can continue, especially as Dallas gets more experience against the Central, is anyone’s guess. But starting with good habits bodes well for good results.

Talking Points