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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Stars Dump, Chase, Lose To Philadelphia Flyers

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

The Dallas Stars lost to the worst team in the NHL last night. It does happen – but when it looks entirely preventable, that’s just depressing.

Not even another scintillating performance from Anton Khudobin could keep the largely sleepwalking Stars from taking a 2-1 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. Head coach Jim Montgomery called the team out for not playing better possession hockey, rather than the dump-and-chase style they seem to have fallen back on:

“Early in the year, I didn’t worry about it because it was a habit I’d seen in two previous years. Now I think it’s just habit for them, that they are confident that they can win faceoffs and buy time to get a little more energy back by icing pucks and I want us to get away from that,” Montgomery said. “I want us to make more poised plays and be together, making some important and talking because when push comes to shove and you get hemmed in your own end, you’ve got to be able to make plays to get out when you’re being hemmed in.”

There were some good Stars moments – a trace of beast-mode Jamie Benn in his late third-period tally, Julius Honka’s great wraparound chance on Carter Hart. But Sean Shapiro points out that depth scoring failed to show up yet again:

Stars management remains resolute that a secondary scoring group exists on this roster, and their lack of production has held the team back.

The Stars need more offense out of players like Devin Shore, Jason Spezza, Tyler Pitlick, and Blake Comeau. Is that a fair ask? Maybe not, but it’s the situation the Stars have put themselves in with this roster construction.

“I feel like it’s a simple answer, we’ve just got to do it,” Pitlick said.

There’s more under the paywall. [The Athletic DFW]

Stars Stuff

The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks takes a look at the Stars’ stats and their mixed messages.

Speaking of analytics, this was what it looked like around the Flyers’ goal last night.

Has Tyler Seguin got his groove back? Enquiring minds want to know.

Around The League(s)

In On The #Kill Taker

  • John Tortorella became the first American to rack up 600 wins as an NHL coach in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 4-3 OT victory over the Nashville Predators. [The Cannon]
  • Rookie tender Jordan Binnington was once again the center of attention as the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens at home, 4-1. [Eyes On The Prize]
  • And in Central-on-Central violence, Jason Zucker scored twice and the Minnesota Wild held off a third-period surge by the Winnipeg Jets to win 3-2. [Hockey Wilderness]/

What’s going on with Sergei Bobrovsky? The Jackets’ increasingly difficult relationship with the Vezina winner took a new turn last night when he was told to stay home after an unspecified incident.

NHL.com fantasy editor Rob Reese has done the sums on the Last Men In candidates, and chooses for each division based on #fancystats.

Meanwhile, Dom Luszczyszyn tells you what to expect from team scoring in the season’s second half.

Also at The Athletic: You’ve all seen that viral video by P.K. Subban. Adam Vingan delves into the backstory of Ty Cornett – the 13-year-old hockey player he addressed it to.

The legendary Hayley Wickenheiser joined the Hockey Night In Canada podcast to discuss women in hockey – and their future in the NHL.

And Ryan Kennedy weighs in on those high-tech All-Star sweaters made from recovered plastic.

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park

If you’re at the Texas Stars game tonight, see if you can find this good boy in H-E-B Center. (The dog, I mean. It’ll probably be pretty easy to find Nicholas Caamano.)

On a related note, AHLTV is free all day this Saturday. Binge freely.

Finally

You’ve made it to Friday. You’ve earned this video of a black Labrador puppy wallowing on the ice at SAP Center in San Jose. Enjoy.

Talking Points