So happy it’s Thursday, everyone, because it means we’re one day away from the weekend. The Dallas Stars are on a semi-extended early season break right now with no games between Tuesday and Saturday. Since it’s early in the season and the players aren’t too tired or dinged up yet (fingers crossed), Jim Montgomery is taking advantage of some quality practice time:
Coaches often spout hyperbole about their group having the best practice of the year after a loss, about how the concerns were ironed out and the page has been turned. But Montgomery pushed the Stars through a series of drills designed to remedy costly errors that exposed Dallas against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Montgomery took note of some things from Tuesday’s loss that he thought needed to be fixed and emphasized fixing the mistakes rather than working on chemistry:
The Stars practice on Wednesday resembled a training camp one, where it mattered less who was playing with each other and more what they were doing. Plus, it’s not often teams can do conditioning drills at the end of a regular-season practice.
It’s encouraging to see the Stars’ new bench boss pushing his team hard to fix mistakes and at the same time really listening to their input and communicating. See more from Matthew DeFranks at his usual spot. [SportsDayDFW]
Dallas! Stars!
As mentioned, the Stars are taking today off after a demanding but productive practice yesterday. Apparently Jim Montgomery was channeling Gordon Bombay after Iceland beat Team USA in Mighty Ducks 2:
Stars have off day tomorrow. Monty said team earned it after difficult practice today, which included a bag skate at the end
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) October 10, 2018
Here is the video evidence:
After last night’s game, the guys turned in what was their best practice of the short year so far, according to Monty. pic.twitter.com/YCVH5h0Urx
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 10, 2018
The boys in Victory Green will be back in action on Friday morning:
Yes, the Stars practice at 11 a.m. Friday in Frisco. https://t.co/neitUmYPSq
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) October 10, 2018
Hmmmmm….:
Jim Montgomery said the Stars would look to change the line combinations around, including maybe the top line.
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) October 10, 2018
I wasn’t aware of this about Mike McKenna, but I can’t say I’m surprised:
Meet @MikeMcKenna56, the world’s most metal hockey player https://t.co/peCTG9ApKF
— Metal Hammer (@MetalHammer) October 10, 2018
This makes me feel old:
18 years ago today in Raleigh,NC @mturco35 played his 1st NHL Game when the @NHLCanes def. the @DallasStars 5-2.
— Sean Ryder (@SeanRyder27) October 10, 2018
Around the League
There was quite a bit of online debate yesterday after the Nashville Predators’ banner raising earlier this week:
the predators’ “regular season western conference champions” banner has been taking some heat. my feelings: with the exception of a division title, banners should be reserved for accomplishments that have a physical trophy. you?
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) October 10, 2018
Ryan Kesler is back in action for the Anaheim Ducks:
NEWS: Executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Murray said @Ryan_Kesler was cleared by doctors and will play tonight! #KesBoss | #LetsGoDucks pic.twitter.com/ojAg0IPNBI
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 11, 2018
Hopefully this still works today, because all of these stories are enlightening:
For #MentalHealthAwarenessDay, we’ve compiled and unlocked several stories about athletes’ mental health struggles:
• Robin Lehner (Islanders): https://t.co/VwsKzvrTbh
• D’Cota Dixon (Badgers): https://t.co/Iycjwj3U4z
• Kyle Okposo (Sabres): https://t.co/GPl84EAnlt— The Athletic HQ (@TheAthletic) October 10, 2018
Down Goes Brown is so great at finding new angles and ways to analyze things without resorting to tired tropes or cliches:
New: Who’s the greatest GM of all-time? We can find out. We just need a foolproof scientific approach, and the entire history of NHL trades. https://t.co/u8UnhSH7dx pic.twitter.com/MKXmL6ro6m
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) October 10, 2018
This is really interesting. A Shapiro-esque breakdown:
There are a lot of fundamentals that go into being the first forward in on the forecheck and doing it well. @jtbourne breaks it down: https://t.co/DKjFsKe2YT
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 10, 2018
DBD fans are quite dedicated, so I’ll set the over/under for players heard of on this list at 2.5:
Who the heck are these guys? Six fresh faces in the NHL you might not know, from @THNKenCampbell https://t.co/vo5CNWMiVP pic.twitter.com/liYg3wAdLT
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 10, 2018
I am a fan of fun:
31 Thoughts (thank you @GMCcanada) — https://t.co/ArFDHMN6HI
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 10, 2018