By all accounts, the Dallas Stars should have lost last night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Yet thanks to a stellar debut by new backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood, the Stars came home with two points:
“He stole that game for us tonight, no question,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “The chances we gave up in overtime, he was outstanding. He was the reason we won the game.”
The game was a career best for Wedgewood, who’s bounced around between New Jersey, Arizona, and the AHL throughout his career. Both he and the Stars hope it’s just a sign of things to come:
“I’ve done a good job of getting rid of the mental demons in my mind over the last couple of years, working with some mental strengthening coaches and things like that,” Wedgewood said. “I’m happy with myself. I’m happy with where I am as a human, my homelife, my family. It’s been a long road to stabilize myself in this league… I just try to take it all in stride and make the most of it.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
Matt DeFranks talks about the resurgence of John Klingberg along with other observations from last night’s game:
John Klingberg can stop seeing his name in trade rumors. He can find it on the scoresheet, instead.
On Klingberg’s recent play, results against the grain, Roope Hintz heating up, Wedgewood in overtime, the Stars in OT, Radulov and Sekera. https://t.co/KWFBwd1pwu
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) March 25, 2022
Meanwhile Saad Yousuf makes the case for more Jacob Peterson:
Whether you’re looking at Jacob Peterson individually or the collective play of the lines he’s been on, it’s clear that he should be a regular in the Stars lineup.
Breaking down Rick Bowness’ explanation for making Peterson a healthy scratch 👇🏽https://t.co/HG5nUnggV5
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) March 25, 2022
Around the League
It wasn’t a good Thursday for the Central Division… unless you made it to overtime:
- The Winnipeg Jets got crushed by the Ottawa Senators 5-2. [Silver Seven]
- The St. Louis Blues got crushed by the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. Woah, déjà vu… [Broadstreet Hockey]
- In contrast, the Minnesota Wild managed to squeeze a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in overtime. [Hockey Wilderness]
- The Nashville Predators got crushed by the Vegas Golden Knights 6-1. I’m sensing a theme, here… [Knights on Ice]
- Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks did their best Dallas impression with a 4-3 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings. [Second City Hockey]/
As more and more teams take advantage of the lack of a salary cap in the postseason, might the NHL eventually change the rules?
Imagine a world in which the salary cap extends into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
While very much a preliminary discussion, sources say that will be part of the agenda when the NHL GMs meet next week in Florida.@PierreVLeBrun has the latest ⤵️https://t.co/bp4SM2eqqB
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) March 25, 2022
Cale Makar gets all the fanfare, but Roman Josi might have a better case for the Norris Trophy:
Josi’s performance this year is one of the main reasons Nashville is in a fight for a playoff spot, and he is the chief obstacle between Avalanche star D-man Cale Makar and the Norris Trophy as the game’s best blueliner.@Proteautype: https://t.co/hBGqoM8BjM
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) March 24, 2022
The PWHPA and PHF have been undergoing talks recently to try and patch their relationship:
The Premier Hockey Federation is taking its playoffs to Florida this weekend, but not before making a latest attempt to mend fences with members of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association.https://t.co/LKDh0IQdYh
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2022
Finally, Greg Wyshynski offers his takeaways from this year’s trade deadline:
Five lessons to be learned from the NHL trade deadline, from the era of player empowerment to, you know, double-checking on those contract clauses. Plus, official ruling on the new @MapleLeafs jerseys. https://t.co/ZFbKioapJb
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) March 25, 2022