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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Cotton Bowl Gets Ready For Its Winter Classic Close-Up

The Dallas landmark prepares for a new ice age. Plus, Roope Hintz’s Twitter takeover, Andrei Svechnikov’s Michigan rag, and more.

There are few things that say the Winter Classic is really real, and really here, like the arrival of ice. The NHL has brought its experts, and the Cotton Bowl is getting ready for its moment in the sun – or wind, or snow, or (heaven forbid) rain.

A veritable army of technicians will build out the rink and install a 300-ton refrigeration unit that removes heat from the ice surface and stabilizes its temperature at about 22 degrees Fahrenheit. Dallas Stars legends Marty Turco and Brenden Morrow were on hand to watch the process begin, and they shared their excitement with correspondent Josh Clark:

“This is a big day for us,” Turco said. “It’s been a great year for our organization. To get this game and watch that truck roll up here today, it’s pretty cool for our group. We’re not shocked about the ticket sales or anything. Our fans are the best and they’re going to get rewarded with a great game in this building.”

”Back in the early ‘90’s, people didn’t expect hockey to be in Dallas, nevertheless to have an outdoor game here,” Morrow said. “It’s pretty unexpected. We’ve come a long way and it’s a big treat and a big thrill for the Dallas Stars to be able to host it.”

Dallas has experienced its usual share of warm and sunny weather this month. But Derek King, NHL senior manager of facilities operations/hockey operations, isn’t fazed:

“The weather is a challenge for all of these outdoor games, so we’ll monitor that closely,” King said. “We’ve got a monitoring system that we’ll put in the ice and a weather station on the field. If it’s going to be bright and sunny during the day, we’ll cover the sheet.

”The making of the ice will be done overnight. It will be a lot of long nights for the crew that will be doing that.”

Read more about it. [NHL]

Stars Stuff

In his latest social-media grab bag, Mike Heika talks Stephen Johns, cap space, and where the Stars should play if they get an overseas game (hint: rhymes with “thin band”).

ICYMI, Sean Shapiro has a few pointed observations about the Stars’ Monday-night loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Roope Hintz took over Twitter yesterday, and this is one of many, many results. #AskRoope

It’s Anton Khudobin. Just watch it.

Around The League(s)

In On The #Kill Taker

  • The Nashville Predators unleashed a scoring blitz on the New York Islanders, scoring seven times in a row during an 8-3 victory in Brooklyn. [On The Forecheck]
  • The Jerk Store called for the Winnipeg Jets, who dropped a 6-3 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes at home. [Canes Country]
  • And the Minnesota Wild took their first regulation loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-2 defeat in Sin City. [Hockey Wilderness]/

Remember when Andrei Svechnikov scored the first Michigan ever completed in the NHL? He did it again.

Newly minted UFA Ilya Kovalchuk is interested in signing with a contender at league minimum. Should the Boston Bruins be interested back?

Marc Crawford has released a statement about previous actions as a coach, and it could be – wait for it – an actual apology.

Finally

The Texas Stars get the last word. Try not to think about it at work. Enjoy.

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