Dallas Stars Daily Links: Another Slow Start
One day, in the far off future, the Stars will finally score first. Plus, interviews from after last night’s loss, appreciation for NHL equipment managers, and more.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that in this world nothing is certain except death, taxes, and the Dallas Stars getting scored on first.
Sure, it took a little bit longer than usual in last night’s 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames, but it was still the ninth consecutive game that the Stars let in the first goal.
“I think we need to be good right away,” said defenseman Miro Heiskanen. “We weren’t good in first period, so we’ve got to be ready right away when the game starts. That’s the reason why we lost today.”
This is a problem that stretches back several years over the span of multiple head coaches. The Stars have often talked about how they’re going to fix it, but they’re well aware that they’ve so far failed to walk the walk:
“We’ve been talking about this for a while that we would be playing a team that won a playoff round and was basically playoff ready,” Stars interim coach Rick Bowness said. “You can talk about it all you want, but we weren’t on our toes consistently enough early, and they were. That team is a very confident team right now, and we were a half a step behind early, and it cost us.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
Here’s more from the gang, starting with Bowness’ post game presser:
🎥 Coach Bowness: "We weren't on our toes consistently enough early, they were. ... We were half a step behind early and it cost us."@ATT | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/tw72jQ2HGU
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) August 12, 2020
Here’s Heiskanen again, along with Andrej Sekera:
🎥 Miro on improving for Game 2: "We've gotta be ready right away when the game starts, and I think that's the reason why we lost today."@ATT | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/aE6LAf9m3L
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) August 12, 2020
And here’s Corey Perry and Anton Khudobin:
🎥 Perry: "We have to be ready to play right when that puck drops. Everybody has to look at themselves in the mirror and get ready. It's on us."@ATT | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/tptPZ4RX9K
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) August 12, 2020
Sean Shapiro offers his own thoughts from last night’s loss:
Stars 20/20: Third goal once again a fatal blow for Stars as they lose Game 1https://t.co/ZjHwovnmhs
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) August 12, 2020
Around the League
There’s almost no chance you don’t know this already, but last night’s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets went into five overtimes. Brayden Point showed us all mercy by ending it for Tampa Bay:
Lightning Round: Tampa Bay takes Game One and today’s NHL viewing schedule https://t.co/b7Vur0XrLO
— Raw Charge (@RawCharge) August 12, 2020
It went on so long that the NHL actually postponed the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes game, which is set to begin *checks clock* now:
Imagine trying to explain this tweet to the January version of yourself. https://t.co/WPhR6S1eeh
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) August 12, 2020
At least we got a third hockey game to watch, as the Vegas Golden Knights took the Chicago Blackhawks to the cleaners, winning 4-1:
One down, 15 to go.#VegasBorn https://t.co/vhOj2Wnsor
— Knights On Ice (@knightsonice) August 12, 2020
Need a new playoff team to cheer for once the Stars get swept by Calgary? Down Goes Brown has got you covered:
New post: The bandwagon hopper's guide to the (real) playoffs. https://t.co/DL6GQkj9ZI pic.twitter.com/qfrleHTGP9
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) August 11, 2020
This postseason has been fun so far, but don’t expect any changes to carry over into next year:
The NHL remains steadfast in keeping its post-season format just the way it is. @THNKenCampbell says that's a good thing:https://t.co/umqsIJX8je
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 12, 2020
Finally, let’s take a moment to everyone working hard behind the scenes to make the NHL bubble work, starting with the equipment managers:
‘All hands on deck’: A relentless grind for equipment managers in the NHL bubble | @RobsonDan https://t.co/dvpZ09CBvD
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) August 12, 2020