Last night, Stephen Johns scored a goal in the NHL for the first time since February 16th, 2018. After battling post-traumatic headaches for roughly 22 months, it was a euphoric moment for the Dallas Stars defenseman:
“I waited a long time, thought a lot about possibly never doing that again,” Johns said. “Helping this team at a crucial moment in the game, I just couldn’t be happier.”
Perhaps it was simply meant to be that he scored tonight — Johns’ parents were in attendance last night, watching him live for the first time in two years. After celebrating with the Stars’ bench, Johns pointed towards his parents in the stands.
“Throughout this whole process, it wasn’t just me going through hell,” Johns said. “As parents, they want to help and for them to be here and see that, I probably know my dad was for sure crying. I’m pretty excited to go see them and give them both a big hug.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
Here’s Johns’ full interview after last night’s 5-3 win over the New York Rangers:
“I waited a long time, thought a lot about possibly never doing that again.”
An emotional Stephen Johns talks after scoring his first goal since returning from post-traumatic headaches.#DALvsNYR | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/kdfkvLLdeV
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 4, 2020
Here’s Joe Pavelski, who scored twice on the power play in just 16 seconds:
Pavelski on his two power-play goals:
“You see it go in once and you get excited. It’s just nice to see it go in a couple of times.”#DALvsNYR | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/fnO5MUodeU
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 4, 2020
And here’s Rick Bowness on the team’s performance:
“I think everyone was so very happy for him.”
Rick Bowness responds to Stephen Johns’ first goal and shares his thoughts on tonight’s game.#DALvsNYR | #GoStars pic.twitter.com/0VchUDyIx4
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 4, 2020
Sean Shapiro talks about Mattias Janmark’s struggle to score and more in his latest Shap Shots:
Shap Shots: Janmark’s analytics, Comeau’s ‘A,’ Stars’ travel challenges and more https://t.co/Me2IpRbTYa
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) February 3, 2020
Look, I appreciate the attitude, but maybe try scoring first for once?
“We stay true to our identity, and know that we’ll outlast teams most nights.”
Despite allowing opponents to score first in 10 of its past 12 games, Dallas has shown resilience in rallying back.#DALvsNYR | #GoStarshttps://t.co/4ngPIPnrSQ
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 3, 2020
Around the League
In the salary cap era of the NHL, getting depth scoring from low-cost players is a huge advantage for your team:
Take a look at the 10 unheralded players who are providing the best bang-for-the-buck goal-scoring in the NHL this season.https://t.co/uxNGlGzHjh
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) February 3, 2020
Something tells me this isn’t going to be a very exciting trade deadline…
Six trade deadline moves from @PierreVLeBrun that make a lot of sense.
Trade scenario No. 1: Rangers send Chris Kreider to the Blues in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick and Jordan Kyrou. Read the other suggestions: https://t.co/7MAWNx9ouC— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) February 3, 2020
After months of speculation, it looks like Dustin Byfuglien and the Winnipeg Jets will be parting ways:
Hearing #nhljets and Dustin Byfuglien are working toward a mutual contract termination over the next several days, which would end his suspension (and grievance) – and finally give Winnipeg the salary cap clarity needed ahead of #TradeCentre.
STORY: https://t.co/5KRyWUnplA pic.twitter.com/4P5JFGMheT
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 3, 2020
Finally, police investigation has revealed that no, Gritty did not physically assault a child:
Very big news this Monday morning. Gritty is in the clear! https://t.co/l5lxLYGbGX
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) February 3, 2020