Dallas Stars Daily Links: No Passion
Did the Stars lose last night due to a lack of ‘fight,’ or is there more to it? Plus, looking ahead towards the Olympics, attendance numbers are down, and more.
After the Dallas Stars’ 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, there was a running theme with the postgame conference: a lack of passion and fight from the Stars.
“You could tell the passion and the competitiveness just wasn’t there,” [head coach Rick] Bowness said. “It just wasn’t.”
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“It just shouldn’t happen,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “You can be as talented and whatever in this league, but it doesn’t take much to work hard, and work hard as a group. For some reason, we didn’t do that tonight. … There is no excuse for not competing. It’s all inside — emotion, heart. There is no excuse.”
Of course, “passion” can only explain so much. The Stars’ have a clear problem of scoring at 5-on-5 so far this season, which was put on full display last night:
They created chances in the first period, ringing three posts, but passed up shots on prime scoring chances. The third period was fine after falling behind by three goals. But the second period was all Blue Jackets at 5 on 5, as they had a 9-6 edge in shots on goal and a 12-3 edge in scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“We have to be more consistent,” defenseman Miro Heiskanen said. “I think we didn’t play good enough tonight. The first was OK, but the second was really, really bad. We have to be a lot better than that.”
You can read more from Matthew DeFranks here.
Stars Stories
Saad Yousuf attempts to be at least a little optimistic about last night’s loss:
Hello, fellow Stars hockey nerds. Let me share my pros and cons list from the 4-1 loss in Columbus with you!
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) October 26, 2021
Stars pros and cons: Effort and offense both look dismal in loss to Blue Jackets 👇
🚨 https://t.co/a4pxM0qsUh pic.twitter.com/8W1LvTeEQg
If you (thankfully) missed the game like me, here’s a breakdown... kind of:
Coach calls timeout to tell his team to fuck off, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/xkhcxYSc3X
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) October 26, 2021
So we’re all on the same page:
This is an embarrassment to the whole fan base, and should be completely off limits. Taunt about play on ice, or even what someone wears to the rink, but you NEVER taunt someone about something as traumatic as losing a friend.
— DefendingBigD (@DefendingBigD) October 26, 2021
We are ashamed of that "fan". The fuck man. https://t.co/CTuGGsxdOq
Around the League
Only a couple of other Central Division games from last night:
- The Arizona Coyotes put up a fight, but fell 5-3 to the Florida Pan — wait a second, have I forgotten to highlight Arizona games earlier this season?!? [Litter Box Cats]
- Meanwhile the St. Louis Blues stay undefeated thanks to a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings: [St. Louis Game Time]/
Speaking of undefeated teams: while the Toronto Maple Leafs are flailing, Freddie Andersen is doing quite alright for himself with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes began free agency not knowing who would be between the pipes in 2021-22.
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 26, 2021
"It was a nervous time," said GM Don Waddell.
However, it looks like Carolina's offseason goalie gamble on Frederik Andersen has paid off so far.
✍️ @PierreVLeBrun https://t.co/KZ1EegZJTa
Team Canada will be stacked for the Olympics... except possibly in net:
🇨🇦 Canada has narrowed its list of men's goaltending hopefuls to six for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Who makes the team?
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 25, 2021
It all comes down to Carey Price's status, writes @THNMattLarkin: https://t.co/IPVKurfusJ
Greg Wyshynski offers some advice if you’re considering taking a dip into NHL betting:
Covered this trend in the debut of my hockey wagering column on ESPN yesterday, but the @TBLightning are now 0-6-0 against the puck line this season (!). https://t.co/6rOUJyt73w
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 26, 2021
Finally, Sean Shapiro investigates lower-than-usual attendance numbers for the start of the 2021-22 NHL season:
Ticket sales are the most important financial pillar for NHL teams and account for roughly 50% of league revenues.
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 25, 2021
Teams have typically sold out their home openers, but in many cases, turnout has dropped in 2021-22.@seanshapiro looks into this trend ⤵️https://t.co/KQlQPMH27r