Comments / New

Dallas Stars Daily Links: Harley’s Debut

Posted on by Tyler Mair

Dallas Stars prospect Thomas Harley made his NHL debut last night, thrust into playoff action against one of the best teams in the Western Conference — the Colorado Avalanche. As you might expect from an 18 year old, Harley was just a liiiitle nervous about the game:

“It was nerve-racking, obviously,” he said. “I mean, you’ve worked your whole life to get there, and you honestly have no idea what to expect. I can tell you firsthand, that was nothing like an (NHL) preseason game I’ve played in before.”

Interim head coach Rick Bowness told reporters that he was pleased with Harley’s performance. But the young prospect wasn’t satisfied, and plans to use what he considers a subpar performance as a learning experience:

“I’m definitely not happy with the way I played… If I get another shot, I’m going to know what’s coming at me so it’s going to feel more comfortable out there. Just be a little calmer with the puck and not run around as much in the d-zone.”

You can read more from Saad Yousuf here.

Stars Stories

By the way, the Stars lost 4-0, in case you blocked the game out of your memory. Here’s Bowness on the loss:

Here’s Andrew Cogliano and Esa Lindell on behalf of the players…

…as well as captain Jamie Benn:

If you like to revisit games like this with a hint of optimism, I suggest you read Mike Heika’s piece:

Otherwise, Sean Shapiro doesn’t pull any punches:

Around the League

That’s enough misery for now — let’s look at the results from last night’s game and try and remain positive.

  • The Montreal Canadiens took a 2-1 series lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-3 win, meaning if Pittsburgh loses again, then they’re 100% going to win the NHL Draft Lottery./

Oh right, positivity. Sorry about that. Let’s try again, shall we?

  • The Chicago Blackhawks took a 2-1 series lead against the Edmonton Oilers with a 4-3 win, meaning if Edmonton loses again, then they’re 100% going to win the NHL Draft Lottery./

Sigh…

  • Speaking of the lottery, Taylor Hall might not get a chance to work his magic this year, as the Arizona Coyotes take the series lead with a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
  • Meanwhile the Florida Panthers stave off elimination by beating the New York Islanders 3-1.
  • Finally, the Boston Bruins will not have the top seed in the Eastern Conference despite winning the President’s Trophy after losing to Tampa Bay 3-2./

The New York Rangers are already out of the picture, but at least their fans can remain optimistic:

NHL officials have been blowing the whistle a lot this postseason, probably just to get it out of their system before Round 1 begins:

The seven non-postseason teams are petitioning the league for an extended training camp, and honestly there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get it:

Finally, make sure you tune in Monday to watch Edmonton or Pittsburgh win the Draft Lottery. Or maybe somehow both:

Talking Points