Ryan Suter probably played his best game in Victory Green on Wednesday night, and now he wants even more.
The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks asked the veteran blueliner if he’d reached the same impression of his performance against the Los Angeles Kings:
“The easy answer is yes, but I feel like we’ve been trending in the right direction and we’ve got to continue to get better,” Suter said.
Suter had a two-point night in the win over the Kings, tying the game late in the second period with a blast from just inside the blue line, then setting up Alexander Radulov’s eventual game-winner with a point shot that rebounded off the end boards.
In addition, DeFranks dug deeper into Suter’s stats and found some trends that could bode well for the Dallas Stars as they push for playoffs position:
In the last five games, the Stars have been a dominant possession team when Suter is on the ice (of course, it doesn’t hurt that his defensive partner is Miro Heiskanen). At 5-on-5 with Suter on the ice, Dallas has controlled 62.2% of shot attempts, 63.4% of shots on goal, 71.7% of scoring chances, 76.7% of high-danger chances, 72.0% of expected goals and 75.0% of goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.
It’s a small sample size, undoubtedly, but nonetheless shows improvement since the start of the year.
Matt has more. [SportsDayDFW]
Stars Stuff
In North Texas and up for a watch party? Here’s your ride to downtown Dallas.
Round up your pals, let’s watch some #TexasHockey together!
Join us tomorrow night at @fcbrewing for our next @ModeloUSA Watch Party as we take on the Jets at 7:00pm! 🍻 pic.twitter.com/kTqlK6nGc2
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 4, 2022
Around The Leagues
#Death Notes
- The Minnesota Wild shook off a four-game slump with a 5-4 road victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. [Hockey Wilderness]
- Alex DeBrincat got the game-winner – on the power play, in overtime – as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3. [Second City Hockey]
- And the Arizona Coyotes inflicted some shocking Central-on-Central violence, defeating the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in regulation. [Five For Howling]/
What a difference a decade makes. Amalie Benjamin recounts how three people with no infrastructure and no experience in running a nonprofit helped change hockey.
You Can Play celebrates 10 years of helping the LGBTQ+ community in hockey. @AmalieBenjamin
has more on how the NHL partner has promoted acceptance and helped ‘revolutionized the sport.’https://t.co/tW7WvLXxMr— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) March 4, 2022
There’s another cancellation, and possibly more on the way, due to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
The Canadian Hockey League has cancelled its annual Canada-Russia series but has not yet decided about banning Russian and Belarusian players from its international drafthttps://t.co/vCDnV97Ks0
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) March 3, 2022
The consequences are liable to be deep and long-lasting.
Whether it be financial support, scouting opportunities, or development paths, the door for Russian players is closing, and the path to the NHL & other leagues is becoming riddled with barriers not seen since the Soviet Union era, writes @IanKennedyCK: https://t.co/rR8U4ePiVh
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) March 2, 2022
Elliotte Friedman discusses the situation, as well as the Chicago rebuild and John Klingberg’s possible future.
32 Thoughts, written version: https://t.co/mmtaWV4p5J Thank you to @jbenny15 and @RealPDGrant on a late night of editing
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 2, 2022
Finally
So nice, you have to hear it twice. Enjoy.
Unlike almost anything you’ve heard in hockey before. 🔊
Here’s all 4 goal calls in Spanish from @osequeraTOMALO and @pedritosilva from last night’s Noche Mexicana game ⬇#SomosStars 🇲🇽💫 pic.twitter.com/rRaNjmn08Z
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 3, 2022