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Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Long, Strange Trip To The Stars’ L.A. Loss

It was a combo platter of abject chaos and utter predictability, writes Matthew DeFranks. Plus, Fleury hits 500, Bishop is back in action, and more.

The non-COVID illness that has dogged the Dallas Stars for the past three weeks is a matter of public record. It was one explanation – though not an excuse – for the Stars getting shut out for the first time this season.

But the combo platter of illness and fatigue was even spicier than you may know. The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks laid out the bizarre details in his latest article:

Dallas flew to Los Angeles on Thursday morning, arriving at its hotel at 11:45 a.m. for the scheduled 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Why? Well, because a man allegedly wearing a clown mask barreled through a fence at McCarron International Airport in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. He allegedly threatened to have a bomb and wanted to fly to Area 51.

So the Stars were grounded in Las Vegas on Wednesday night after falling to the Golden Knights in a 5-4 thriller.

However, the real illness looks to be the Stars’ relative fecklessness on the road:

It was also a callback to the version of the Stars at the beginning of the season, when their inconsistency ironically appeared nightly. Twenty minutes of tilted ice would pass with regularity in New York or Boston or Dallas. But for almost a month, the Stars mostly avoided those stretches as they went 9-1-0....

On the road, the Stars are 4-7-1 and have just one regulation win all season. Without a second line to complement the team’s top line, the Dallas attack is toothless on the road, when teams can choose to neutralize the top line with matchups against their best forwards and defensemen.

Matt has more. [SportsDayDFW]

Stars Stuff

Saad Yousuf took a long look at the Stars’ road record in his own latest post.

So who has the Bowness Decoder today, and what’s the translation for “two neutral-zone turnovers”?

Around The Leagues

In On The #Kill Taker

  • Jonathan Toews scored for the first time this season as the Chicago Blackhawks shut out the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0. [Second City Hockey]
  • Eeli Tolvanen scored with less than 12 seconds left in regulation to give the Nashville Predators a win over the New York Islanders, 4-3. [On The Forecheck]
  • Fourth-string netminder Charlie Lindgren stopped 29 shots in his first start as the St. Louis Blues routed the Detroit Red Wings, 6-2. [Winging It In Motown]
  • Kyle Connor scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck earned his 25th career shutout as the Winnipeg Jets blanked the Seattle Kraken, 3-0. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
  • And Jordan Greenway earned two apples as the Minnesota Wild beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2. [Hockey Wilderness]/

Everyone’s favorite Flower also hit a big milestone last night.

How big? T H I S big.

Speaking of milestones...Nathan Walker got an emergency call-up from the Springfield Thunderbirds and promptly earned his first NHL hat trick for the St. Louis Blues.

But wait, there’s more...!

So what’s next, a Joe Thornton hatty?

Sooooo, our conclusion is that team meetings work? Unless they don’t?

What do you want for the holidays?

Greetings From Scenic Cedar Park

Ben Bishop played his first conditioning game with the Texas Stars, and you could feel the excitement in the Force.

But even a Jedi needs practice after more than a year out of the game.

Finally

Say hello to Jason Robertson, the timeline cleanser of choice. Enjoy.

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