Four days more. Four blanking days more. You’re almost there. The question is “what will we see when we arrive?” on Thursday night. It took them a while to work it all out last year. This season they think they have a better idea thanks to the familiarity and continuity a second season under the same staff and structure offer.
“We have an identity now,” Daley said. “We use our speed and we move the puck quickly, and we try to attack.”
We’ve harped on an identity, or rather, lack-thereof, tirelessly. To hear the players speak of that which is now so blessedly and completely obvious after such a quick one-year turnaround on philosophy… well, it brings a tear to me eye.
“In a lot of ways we were flying blind last season,” Ruff said. “This year, it’s not going to be easy, but I think we have a much better feeling about the direction we’re heading.”
In other words, what was a multi-month correction of errors last season could be turned around in a more timely fashion. And the net-gain of two, three, seven or nine points could mean all the difference in the world in a Western Conference that is once again going to dominate the East and drive up necessary point totals.
***
- The summer of advanced stats continues as ESPN gets into it, you know, sort of. Honestly, the real headline here for me was that apparently that puke of a team with a cretin for a captain won the cup again last year. I think I had blocked it from my memory entirely. Like any sensible human being would. [ESPN]
- From Puck Daddy on medical standards in the NHL this season, “Each team needs three doctors near the benches at each home game – an orthopedist, a primary care physician and an ER physician – and at least one, if not all, must have current training in ATLS and Advanced Cardiac Life Support.” [Puck Daddy]
- Mr. Gaglardi is quoted in this article, commenting on how down-to-earth Buffalo Sabre’s owner Terry Pegula is [Buffalo.com]
- The Austin Statesman takes a Texas Stars-slanted approach on the Green/White scrimmage in Cedar Park yesterday, and somehow thinks you might pay to read it via their paywall [Austin Statesman]
- A man with a proven track record of not really liking us here in DFW much ranks Dallas as his 13th strongest team in the NHL’s 30. [Buffalo.com]
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers up some praise for Dallas, predicting them to finish 8th in a Western Conference that is just beyond competitive. [STL Post Dispatch]
- This Grantland season outlook probably nails the Stars the most accurately, jesting that “Best case: The run-and-gun Stars are great fun to watch, playing a bunch of 5-4 games that they win. Worst case: The run-and-gun Stars are great fun to watch, playing a bunch of 5-4 games that they lose.” Hard to argue with that. [Grantland]
- More season predictions from… whatever XN sports is. Everyone is high on Dallas. You know, compared to the last five years, anyway. [XN Sports]
- This article asserts that Joe Morrow, traded from Dallas to Boston last summer, is NHL ready. [NESN]
- This article in the Arizona Republic is pretty dismissive of the Stars, stating “Even the teams that hugged the Coyotes in the standings, the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, improved,” so the Coyotes are kind of the star of their own movie there, apparently. [AZcentral.com]