We’ll start with the absolute best moment of last night, and let Twitter do the talking:
“Trevor Daley is just giving it to Corey Perry in the goal crease behind the play!” BRB, ordering my Trevor Daley jersey
— Nick Chapin (@dightkwing) April 19, 2014
Daley is doing the lord’s work right now
— SJ (@stace_ofbase) April 19, 2014
Stars vs. Ducks GDT#2: Corey Perry’s Face Meets Trevor Daley’s Fist Edition http://t.co/VRI5SudfDk
— Brandon Worley (@brandonworley) April 19, 2014
Those first two were from a Kings fan and a Sharks fan respectively. Let’s just say Trevor Daley became a popular guy around the league last night.
As for the rest of the game, anybody who picked Dallas to win in 5 games, boy, you sure got that wrong didn’t you? Those of us who picked them to win in 6 are still well on track though.
They have to turn it around soon right? I mean, it feels like just that one extra save, or that one extra scoring chance converted… And yes, I know that’s like saying the NBC commentator’s go-to line of “The Stars really just need to come out hard and outscore the opposition to win this game,” but it’s true.
What I really mean, is that after only two of them, I’m already tired of one-goal losses. And of closing my eyes whenever we turn the puck over, because I’m certain it will wind up in the back of the net. And while not every turnover results in an opposition goal, it sure feels like it sometimes. Or maybe it’s just that the only way Anaheim can score is after a turnover. Two unassisted goals last night, and then the back-breaking third goal shorthanded, after the Cogliano slash, wait, maybe it wasn’t a slash, wait, Gonchar! Why are you skating away from the play?!
You know, that’s what bothered me most about that third Anaheim goal. It was Sergei Gonchar suddenly acting like a soccer player and skating away from the play in order to appeal to the ref for a slashing penalty. Maybe it was a slash, maybe not. If it was, Gonchar’s stick has the strength of three matchsticks glued together. But regardless, he could have dropped his stick and still tied up his man behind the goal. Instead he leaves Cogliano, skates in front of the crease to appeal to a ref, drops his stick right in front of Kari, and then does a poor job of tying up Ryan Getzlaf to prevent the return pass to Cogliano.
That’s not the ‘veteran presence’ we had in mind.
* * *
Recaps from last night. [Stars Inside Edge] [Sports Day DFW]
And quotes from last night. [Sports Day DFW]
Surprisingly, Anaheim Calling do a pretty un-biased game recap, so far as these things go. Worth a read to get the view from the other side. [Anaheim Calling]
I don’t know if this will make you feel better or worse about the game. The Stars dominated in possession metrics. Oh well. [Extra Skater]
A few observations from Mike Heika, comparing the Ducks to a ‘veteran bus driver.’ I think he means it as a compliment though… [Sports Day DFW]
#BANG! Jared Dobias, who wrote that scathing article about the Stars Glass Banger a couple months ago, returns. This time with an interview of the man himself. [Battle of California]
As for the rest of the playoffs, the Stars aren’t the only team hitting the road in a 2-0 hole. Only, the other team, Tampa Bay, lost both of their games at home and are now heading to Montreal needing to win a game on the road just to stay alive.
And Detroit, a team for whom I will never root for, except when they’re playing the Boston Bruins, managed to eke out a win in Game 1 in Boston with a little bit of magic from Pavel Datsyuk. [Puck Daddy]
And lastly, how close did the Avalanche come to a 1-0 series deficit on Thursday night? Oh, ’bout a couple inches…