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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Can the Stars Take What Happened in Vegas On the Road?

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

The Dallas Stars brought it all together, or nearly enough during their 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Now they need to make sure what happened in Vegas travels with them.

Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News traces the Stars’ new swagger to – wait for it – the blowout road losses they suffered to the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning. In each of those games, the team suffered That One Play that seemed to destroy its composure. Not so much in Nevada:

That shorthanded goal against the Lightning that shook the team’s confidence and created an electrical storm of goals against in a 6-1 loss Nov. 16. That 10-second span against the Avalanche that led to an odd-man rush and an eventual “set piece” goal with 0.2 seconds left in last Wednesday’s 3-0 loss. The mental breakdowns from which the Stars couldn’t recover in both games.

…

But Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Stars never faced “that” moment. Well, they did, sort of, but Ben Bishop took care of it. The big goalie who signed a six-year free agent contract in the summer with Dallas, stepped up and had a spectacular game. He made 34 saves and posted the 21st shutout of his career in a 3-0 win.

Could Vegas be a turning point? The Stars will need to play with the calm and confidence they showed in Sin City to make up ground in what may be the toughest division in sports – starting tonight, in Chicago.

“Any time you get the results with the work, it makes it easier,” Bishop said after the win in Las Vegas. “I think we are playing better. It took us half the game to find it, but once we got it, we played a good game. Now, we can go onto Chicago with confidence.”

And that is the key. The Stars are in a tough Central Division and need to move up the standings. They are playing the next five games against Central opponents, with three of those games on the road. And with a 1-6-0 record within the division, Dallas has to start making ground in these “four-point” games.

There’s more at Mike’s place. [SportsDayDFW]

And the road trip continues tonight as the Stars meet the Chicago Blackhawks in United Center. Game time is 7:30 p.m. CT.

More Stars

Elsewhere in Heika, Mike spoke with Kari Lehtonen about the birth of his son and finding a groove in the Stars’ goalie rotation.

Captain Jamie Benn shows up in Alex Prewitt’s latest piece. Are no-helmet warm-ups about respecting the past or showing your flow? You be the judge. [Sports Illustrated]

You know how this team loves to show off for their dads. The Stars take you behind the scenes with their Vegas gallery.

@DallasStars Twitter couldn’t resist a little Vegas humor, either.

Aaaaaaaand yellow laces for luck, confirmed:

P.S. I’m posting the latest Miro Heiskanen nugget, and Tyler isn’t. #sorrynotsorry

Around the league(s)

There were only four NHL games afoot last night, but the #MDK accounted for two of them:

  • Patrik Berglund is back in the lineup, but the St. Louis Blues couldn’t outlast the Anaheim Ducks, who won 3-2 in Scottrade Center. [Anaheim Calling]
  • And in the four-point melee, the Colorado Avalanche won overtime against the Winnipeg Jets, with Nathan MacKinnon playing 3-on-3 hero in the 3-2 victory. [NHL]/

Minnesota Wild star Zach Parise skated yesterday for the first time since having microdiscectomy surgery on his lower back Oct. 24. “Most importantly, nothing hurt,” he told reporters. Here’s hoping for a quick and complete recovery. [NHL]

The Bolts’ Andrei Vasilevskiy is chasing Kari’s record for most career wins for a European-born goalie by age 23. He didn’t get the tie last night, as the Lightning dropped one to the Boston Bruins, 3-2. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

A former Stars defenseman is basking in praise for some key plays after he helped the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators – and his name is David Schlemko. (Psych!) [Sportsnet]

You already know that Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, but can you picture a hockey team in H-Town? Scott Burnside takes on this topic in Burnside Chats.

The latest Hockey News power rankings are out, and the Stars move up (but are still ensconced in the Mushy Middle). [The Hockey News]

Also at THN: Doping scandals left over from Sochi could get the entire Russian Olympic team banned from PyeongChang, and the IIHF is calling for a time out.

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park

THERE ARE HAT TRICKS IN THE WATER HERE IN STARS-VILLE. Curtis McKenzie became the latest to bring the magic in last night’s Texas Stars win – their fourth straight – over the Grand Rapids Griffins, 5-2.

Landon Bow – he’s so hot right now. Here’s a brief interview with the T-Stars’ streaking goalie.

Finally

Have some holiday cheer: The Texas Stars Foundation is selling these great ornaments, handmade by Texas Stars families, throughout December. Start lining up at H-E-B Center now, and remember to yell “Shut up and take my money!”

Talking Points