Welcome to the Central Division, where every single team except the Stars has gotten a point in the last two days.
—
People have started to notice that Dallas hasn’t exactly bricked up the net so far this season. When it comes to Anders Lindback, in fact, one might be excused for thinking the Stars had bricked up every area except the goal.
Note: Anders Lindback kind of looks like a gangly Grant Marshall with the Van Dyke, no?
Allan Muir of SI.com is one of the aforementioned noticers of Lindback’s struggles, and he has a suggestion for a former Panthers veteran netminder who could help ease Kari’s workload. Now why didn’t the Stars think of trying that before? From Muir:
Granted two starts isn’t much of an audition, but add in the preseason and his struggles with Tampa Bay last season and it’s tough to picture Lindback recovering in any meaningful or lasting way. Everyone raves about his work ethic and his preparation but in the end the only thing that matters is stopping pucks and he isn’t getting the job done.
The Stars have options in their system if they decide to put Lindback on waivers, but neither Rynnas or Jack Campbell is making a strong case for a call-up with their play in Austin. Rynnas is 2-0-1 with a 2.63 GAA and .905 save percentage. Campbell is even worse with a 1-1-0 mark to go along with a 3.59 GAA and .892 save percentage.
Those aren’t their only options, of course. The Stars have just over $2.5 million in cap space to work with. That’s more than enough to sign an out-of-work veteran like Tomas Vokoun to bring some stability to the position. Don’t be surprised if they make the call in the next few weeks. [SI.com]
We all know the Stars don’t want Kari starting 65-70 games this year, so you can bet they’re all over this situation. But it’s a little ridiculous to suggest that Lindback needs to be jettisoned after two games behind this defense. Let’s give him another two or three games, and if he’s still struggling (regardless of whether the Stars win or not), we can talk about replacements. I may turn out to show more patience than Ruff and Nill will in that respect,but honestly, no goalie should be judged on two rough games to start the season when they’re dealing with this defense. And, for the record, Lindback’s two games were against the Islanders (2nd in the Metropolitan Division) and the Predators (somehow still a point ahead of Chicago for 1st in the Central).
Does Lindback need to play better to deserve more than 4-5 games this year in the NHL? Absolutely, and I think there’s no way you see him here by Thanksgiving if he doesn’t step up with at least two decent-to-very-good performances in the meantime. The Stars have needed competitive ability from their backup for years now, and Jim Nill brought in two goalies to foster it. It hasn’t worked out yet, but let’s not go sending Happy Harvest cards to Voukon or Bryzgalov after two games.
(And please, don’t even think about suggesting Brodeur. There is a reason he hasn’t had a job so far this year, and that reason is he would be a massive distraction who also, by the way, has not been good at goalkeeping for a while.)
* * * * *
Friday Links come with this free bit o’ honey: I was watching Montreal at Vancouver last night, and two things jumped out to me: 1) At one point, Carey Price came way out to clear a puck right before Vancouver got to it, and I noticed that he used the reversal grip that Turco popularized. Still bugs me that Brodeur always gets every ounce of the puck handling love for goalies. 2) Seven years later, the top line of the Canucks can still hog the puck like nobody’s business when they’re on. Watching the Sedins overlap while passing back and forth is one of the more beautiful things about this game. (For maximum beauty, watch them while they play an Eastern Conference team.)
Tim Cowlishaw thinks the Superline is okay in short burst, and he also thinks Seguin’s long-term role should be helping Nichushkin to develop. I don’t disagree with those things. [DMN]
Check out Josh Bogorad’s “Social Mailbag” that he did with real people like you and me. [Stars]
Mike Heika says that Cody Eakin needs to shut down Ryan Getzlaf (and his jaw). [DMN]
Marian Hossa is so good, everyone. He is just so, so good. If you get the chance to watch him in person, just follow him for a whole shift and be amazed. He is so good at everything. He scored his 1,000th point last night in Chicago’s shootout victory over Ottawa. He is good. [NHL.com]
And the Wild came back to top San Jose in the shootout last night. Points, points for everyone! [NHL.com]
Tom Callahan thinks Ken Hitchcock’s days are numbered in St. Louis. Technically, though, everyone’s days anywhere are numbered. [Talking Puck]
But let’s be clear: it’s not Hitch’s fault that Backes and Oshie are both out with concussions for the time being. [StlToday]
New Jersey finally ended their basically-infinite shootout drought, somehow managing to beat top-40 goalie Ondrej Pavelec in the skills competition. Congratulations to the only scorer in the shootout, 23-year-old Jacob Josefson, and congratulations to the Devils, who improve to 1-18 in their last 19 shootouts. [NJ.com]
The Predators and Avalanche are both of the list of surprising teams this year, says Sean McIndoe. [Grantland]
Mascots, mascots. One mascot by the name of Gnash of Nashville has been dealing with a leg injury, but his rehab is going well. What? [Puck Daddy]
Gordie Howe’s physique back in the day. Those shoulders, my goodness. [THN]
Here’s Sir Patrik Nemeth (you’ll see) talking about his injury, life and Kevlar sleeves: