Well, not my favorite, these last couple days. Only a single jot out of four possible points? Not the best.
In case you forgot where we’ve come from, here’s a piece from the Hockey Writers about where the Stars stood as of Saturday morning. As far as I’m concerned, the game in Minnesota never happened, so let’s just pretend that the below is current:
Heading into last season the Stars rolled our new uniforms and began to build their brand around a new mantra, “A New Star is Rising!”. This off-season the Stars front office continued to bolster the roster by acquiring two of the biggest offensive talents available in Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky. Also, the Texas Stars went on to win the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup trophy. These events fueled an already optimistic buzz around the organization and it’s fans. Fast forward to November 1, 2014 and the Stars have completed their first 10 games of the 2014-2015 season. The Stars record is 4-2-4 and they stand in 9th place in the Western Conference. The Stars road record is a respectable 3-2, while their home record is a curious at best 1-0-4. On the one hand, they haven’t had a regulation loss at home, but on the other hand they have lost valuable points with 4 overtime losses. It’s still early in the season but they can’t allow the overtime losses to linger, and certainly not on home ice. While it’s a long season, missed opportunities can often come back to haunt a team down the stretch. [The Hockey Writers]
Check out the rest of the article. I implore you! it’s a long one, actually.
It’s odd that the Stars have yet to lose a home game in regulation thus far. Namely, it’s odd because there is a vibe of disappointment around the team through this point in the season. There are questions about adaptive abilities–how does the team respond when another club like Anaheim short-circuits their best laid plans?–and there are lots of more nitty-gritty questions as well. But those will be answered as they always are: by the rest of the season.
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Sunday Links, folks. You know, I just love all of you. Except for that one poster who made the Russian guy angry last week. Not cool. (Actually, ’twas kinda cool.)
Soon, and very soon. Val Nichushkin is coming back, we hope. [DMN]
If you want to read about the Stars’ helping the Wild get healthy in every conceivable way, click on this link. [Stars]
Victor E. Green made a top ten list on The Hockey News? Never mind what it’s for: he’s a top ten mascot in the NHL, folks. [THN]
The Sharks’ hotshot prospect Tomas Hertl had been quiet this year. Too quiet, in fact: he played on the fourth line last night. [Fear the Fin]
If you think the Stars have been having a rough time on defense these days, how would you like to play two full periods with only four defensemen? That’s what the Rangers had to do last night after losing Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Klein. McDonagh has a separated shoulder, so expect him out for a few weeks or so. The Jets would beat them in the shootout, because collecting points is what Central Conference teams do. Most of them, I mean. [Pro Hockey Talk]
If you love memes of Claude Julien eating food, then you’ll be happy to hear that he’s been extended for another three years. That means he’ll still be getting paid long after the Bruins have slipped into obscurity. [Twitter]
The Flyers training staff decided to mess with the heart rates of a few of their players with this prank. What would you do if you saw a cobra in your cooler? [Puck Daddy]
What do the Sabres have to be happy about these days? A few things, it turns out. [The Hockey Writers]
Former Stars prospect Austin Smith has been signed by the Allen Americans, who are now a San Jose affiliate. [AA]
Thirty surprises from 30 teams. Guess if Hemsky is one. [THN]
Matt Fraser: goal scorer. Two goals scored in 1:30 against Ottawa. What was Dallas thinking, trading him for Tyl–oh, right. Right. (Chiasson also found his way onto the scoresheet):