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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Stars Look to Protect Their House in a Game 5 Showdown

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

Maybe it’s time to stop betting against the Dallas Stars. Certainly, they aren’t betting against themselves. The mood was positive as players returned to practice in the AAC Friday afternoon – and after winning in overtime and tying the series in the St. Louis Blues‘ house, they had reason for confidence.

Scoring the Stars’ first OT playoffs win since Cinco de Morrow probably had a lot to do with that:

“I am sure there was a little bit of nerves [Thursday night], but it was exciting, fun. It was a good challenge for our group,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn. “Obviously, we didn’t want to go down 3-1 and lose two games on the road. We found a way to win and now we’ve got a whole new series.”

…

“It’s huge. Now we’ve got a best-of-three, we’ve got home ice and it starts here tomorrow in front of our fans,” said Benn. “We are looking forward to it; we want to take advantage of playing in front of those fans in our home building and try to find a way to win.”

The Stars will try to put their home-ice advantage to good use beginning at noon Central time, and they’re actually looking forward to the early start:

“It’s a little bit earlier than some of us are used to, but it is still a game and nothing changes,” said Stars center Cody Eakin.

Added Benn: “It’s almost better. You can just wake up and play. You don’t have to lay around and think all day. It’s going to be pretty good.”

There’s more at Mark’s link. [Stars Inside Edge]

*****

Today: Mike Heika writes that the team who wins Game 5 – and indeed, the rest of the series – will probably be the one that “stays on task the best.” [SportsDayDFW]

ICYMI yesterday, The Captain was named a Ted Lindsay Award finalist for the second consecutive year. Joining him in the candidate pool are Braden Holtby and Patrick Kane.

Here’s how Scott Lewis breaks down the field.

Radek Faksa and Kari Lehtonen joined Lindy Ruff for yesterday afternoon’s practice update:

Former NHL assistant coach Gary Agnew says goaltending will make a difference for Dallas in Game 5. [NHL]

Oh, and you know you wanna watch the Stars mic’ed up. Enjoy:

Shania Twain, or Ol’ Blue Eyes? The Stars wrested back home-ice advantage by doing things their way, says Mark Spector. [Sportsnet]

Also at Sportsnet: Cody Eakin, Lindy Ruff, and “six degrees of Saskatchewan separation.” [Sportsnet]

Last night, in Other People’s Playoffs:

And now for something completely different: a goalie with no skate blade. This actually happened to Thomas Greiss last night.

Trading for Trevor Daley and Carl Hagelin just may have turned the Pittsburgh Penguins into a genuine Stanley Cup contender, writes Dan Rosen. [NHL]

Speaking of NHL.com, they’ve posted a video featuring every overtime goal so far in the 2016 playoffs. Check it out. [NHL]

Everyone has an opinion about Pierre McGuire. Alex Prewitt goes backstage with the high-profile hockey nerd to find out what his job is really like. [Sports Illustrated]

Ooooh, this was…awkward. Fortunately Roger Cote seems to be the forgiving type.

Auston Matthews made a strong impression, but Patrik Laine grabbed headlines with a record-setting performance at the World Hockey Championships. [TSN]

In the space of months, Amanda Kessel went from post-concussion limbo to the 2016 NCAA Women’s Championship. Now she hopes her deal with the New York Riveters will help her complete her comeback with a return to the U.S. Olympic team. [SI]

Finally: The Stars are, famously, Shania Twain fans – and it looks as if Shania is a Stars fan, too. Witness this social-media exchange between Ms. Twain and Cap’n Benn (with a brief coda by Jason Demers) and judge for yourself.

Talking Points