The Dallas Stars fell one game short of setting a new franchise record for eight consecutive wins. In a road game against a pre-season Stanley Cup favorite, the team fell short against the Vegas Golden Knights:
“That was one of those games, obviously, they deserved to win,” [Braden] Holtby said. “Those are the games that good teams can find a way. For us, it was a bounce here and a couple goals. It’s not like it’s a panic. That’s a good team over there, and when you play teams like that, it’s cat and mouse.”
The Stars were perfect on special teams, going 3-3 on both the power play and penalty kill, but were outscored 5-1 at even strength. That included three unanswered goals in the third to drop the 4-2 lead:
“Not nearly good enough,” [head coach Rick] Bowness said of the Stars’ 5-on-5 play. “Specialty teams were obviously huge. Goaltending was great. Five on five, we just didn’t have the energy that we normally play with, it’s as simple as that.”
You can read more from Matthew DeFranks here.
Stars Stories
Saad Yousuf breaks down the Stars’ shortcomings last night:
Stars forced the opposition to pull its starting goaltender before the game even reached the midway point. They entered the third period with a 3-2 lead and extended it in the final frame to a 4-2 cushion.
And they lost👇https://t.co/Ndetl4Q7IW
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) December 9, 2021
On a more positive note, the Stars still won seven in a row, which has historically spelled good things for the franchise:
What a lengthy win streak has meant historically for the Dallas Stars@MDeFranks | #GoStars https://t.co/btF0oYunGq
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) December 8, 2021
Even if Ben Bishop doesn’t return to the NHL, the future in Dallas is bleak for Anton Khudobin:
The Dallas Stars have carried three goaltenders in Braden Holtby, Jake Oettinger and Anton Khudobin since mid-November. With Ben Bishop inching closer to returning from knee surgery, Khudobin appears to be the odd man out, writes @SpectorsHockey: https://t.co/uOh5tHGzLD pic.twitter.com/LozxMT1kZo
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) December 8, 2021
Around the League
Once again, the Colorado Avalanche were the only other Central team to play last night, and once again they scored seven:
Winning is fun!
Colorado Avalanche defeat New York Rangers 7-3 #GoAvsGo https://t.co/vunhuwvhGn
— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) December 9, 2021
Well that can’t be good:
The end of the Coyotes’ tenure at Gila River Arena could come much sooner than the end of the 2021-22 season if they don’t pay their bills.
Via @PHNX_Sports & @PHNX_Coyotes https://t.co/E1SwedOHg7
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) December 9, 2021
The Arizona Coyotes, for what it’s worth, blame the issue on “human error:”
The Arizona Coyotes are blaming ‘human error’ for a host of unpaid bills. They say they’ll pay up to avoid the potential of being kicked out of their arena.https://t.co/IHnrA3NVE8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 9, 2021
Down Goes Brown makes another quirky roster, because why not?
New post: In which I try to build an entire roster of players whose number of goals exactly matched their number of assists.https://t.co/zI2JgG32gK pic.twitter.com/NDz06B8COc
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) December 9, 2021
Call it the Trevor Zegras effect — Sonny Milano is finally putting it together for the Anaheim Ducks:
After starting the year in the AHL, Sonny Milano has become an integral piece of Anaheim’s strong season. The potential was always there, but he’s finally starting to get the results to show why. #FlyTogether
✍️: @StevenEllisTHN https://t.co/1uLf9H3uTV pic.twitter.com/lWYQTk7QrY
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) December 8, 2021
Greg Wyshynski gives some probabilities to various assumptions around the NHL:
Rick Tocchet will coach the Flyers and the Sedins are taking over the Canucks, right?
The NHL has a lot of “this will OBVIOUSLY happen” (and sometimes it actually does!). In my column, we put these theories to the NHL Assumption Test: https://t.co/no7iWJT5zR
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 9, 2021
An interesting situation to monitor — Matvei Michkov, one of the top prospects for the 2023 NHL Draft, will be under contract in the KHL until 2026:
“He is one of the best goal scorers I’ve ever scouted.”
Matvei Michkov, only 16, “will be an NHL star.” But his long KHL contract commits him to Russia for years to come.
It’s giving NHL teams deep concerns.
✍️ @coreypronman https://t.co/XoROEjSIDH
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 8, 2021
Finally, a feel good story:
“This is not about me, it’s about the bigger picture. It’s to give courage and an outlet to people who are struggling.”
Dre Barone will make history as the first openly gay male official to work a game in @TheAHL. He spoke to @SNChrisSimpson about his journey on The Big Picture. pic.twitter.com/kSBGVM5k7p
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 9, 2021