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Dallas Stars Daily Links: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

So here we are on Groundhog Day, asking the same questions over and over again.

Did the Dallas Stars learn nothing from Sunday’s big win over the contending Boston Bruins? Now they have to enter the All-Star break carrying the welts of a regulation loss to a Western Conference competitor.

The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks took a look at last night’s blown opportunity with the Calgary Flames and found some positives to go with that one resounding negative. In the process, he posted what may be the quote of the year:

“I think we got what we deserved,” Stars forward Jason Robertson said. “We stepped off the gas pedal, they took it to us. … It’s really hard. This is one of those games where you piss it away. Going into this break, definitely it’s going to be on our minds. We’ve got to learn from it.”

The team took two steps forward and three steps back during the game, which is liable to happen when you employ the strategy of protecting your lead in the third period, yet again. And yet there were seeds of improvement:

“It wasn’t just the last six minutes, it started a lot earlier than that,” [head coach Rick] Bowness said. “I thought we were lucky to be up 3-1, myself. It just carried over the entire third period, everything we did so well against Boston in terms of managing the puck and getting above and crowding them, we did the exact opposite tonight. We let them come at us in waves. We kept turning the puck over at the wrong time. We beat ourselves tonight.”

But the penalty kill continued its rebound, the top line neutralized another one of the league’s best units, and the Stars received the scoring depth that it’s been missing for most of the year.

Matt has more, including reports from the AHL and news on some of the Stars’ hottest prospects. [SportsDayDFW]

Stars Stuff

It was a theme, apparently.

Last night happened in spite of Robo’s best efforts. Here’s a close look at one of those.

Around The Leagues

In On The #Kill Taker

  • At least the Winnipeg Jets helped maintain the status quo by dropping one to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
  • Juuse Saros earned his 100th W as the Nashville Predators took down the Vancouver Canucks, 4-2. [On The Forecheck]
  • And the Arizona Coyotes snapped the Colorado Avalanche’s home winning streak with a 3-2 victory in the shootout. [Five For Howling]/

It seems weird that an NHL player can now become an “ambassador” for a sports book, but that’s where we are, and Auston Matthews is leading the charge.

The biggest series of the year may not be the Stanley Cup Final. The ongoing battle between USA and Canada women’s hockey should be a barnburner in Beijing.

There’s another big honor for Willie O’Ree on the horizon.

Meanwhile, former Star Gemel Smith has made some history of his own.

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park – And Beautiful Boise

The Texas Stars say goodbye to Tye Felhaber and get ready to welcome Alexey Lipanov.

It may be a minute before their new forward can join the team on the ice, though.

Elsewhere, the Idaho Steelheads would like you to meet yet another up-and-comer.

Finally

Tyler Seguin just turned 30, and yet he still does stuff like this. May it continue.

Talking Points