It can be tough to remember the good times when you’re riding the struggle bus. But it bears remembering that the Dallas Stars have entered the midpoint of 2015-16 with a blazing start and the promise of more to come. And it seems the league’s official website is ready to remind us.
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen has selected his top 12 storylines from the first half of 2015-16 – and among the cliffhangers (Steven Stamkos), the evergreens (Jaromir Jagr), the better than expected (Arizona Coyotes) and worse (Anaheim Ducks), there’s this:
Two years ago, when general manager Jim Nill and coach Lindy Ruff were in their first season together in Dallas, the Stars surprisingly made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were ahead of their time. They fell back last season and missed the playoffs. It gave them a better indication of where they were in their development and what they needed to speed the process along. They needed another scorer, a veteran defenseman and better goaltending. Enter Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya and Antti Niemi. Those three players have helped push a team led by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin to the next level. The Stars are an elite team in the NHL now.
See who else made Rosen’s list here. [NHL]
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The Stars don’t play again until Friday, so The Dallas Morning News has taken a look at the changing faces of the franchise through the years, from Ed Belfour and Mike Modano, to Steve Ott and Brenden Morrow, to Benn and Seguin and more.
Then and now: Looking at how iconic Dallas Stars have changed throughout the years https://t.co/pEwmRgpTzE pic.twitter.com/bzl3BnDl9C
— SportsDayDFW (@SportsDayDFW) January 11, 2016
The Norris Trophy race is heating up at the season’s midway point, and John Klingberg is still in the thick of it, even as fellow Swede Erik Karlsson has become a clear front-runner. [NHL]
The formidable Antoine Roussel is the subject of a new player feature on the NHL Players’ Association website. [NHLPA]
“I’m sure there will come a day when I’ll look back on everything, but for now, I want to look ahead,” offered Roussel. “The way that hockey is, you need to look forward, to the next game, to what you can do, to how you can be a better player.”
It was another quiet night in #MurderDeathKill, with no Central Division teams seeing action on Monday. Today, however, is a different story altogether. Here’s the schedule:
- St. Louis Blues – minus the injured Jake Allen, Jay Bouwmeester, Carl Gunnarsson and Magnus Paajarvi – vs. New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. Central time)
- Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. Central time)
- Winnipeg Jets vs. San Jose Sharks (7 p.m. Central time)
- Chicago Blackhawks, seeking to extend their winning streak to eight games, vs. Nashville Predators (7:30 p.m. Central time)
- Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (8 p.m. Central time)
As it turns out, even the eternally sunny P.K. Subban has his limits – and a frustrated, NSFW rant after the Montreal Canadiens‘ latest loss has left him apologizing to his parents, among others. [CBC]
One Great 8 deserves another: Teemu Selanne congratulates Alex Ovechkin upon scoring his 500th NHL goal. [BarDown]
From one great 8 to another! Congrats, @ovi8, on scoring your 500th NHL goal. pic.twitter.com/5Ij5ZcwS41
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) January 11, 2016
Steve Dangle devotes a video to wondering how much further the Gr8 One will go. [Sportsnet]
Meanwhile, Allan Muir takes a look at a few players who may have a shot at being the next to 500, from Patrick Marleau to Patrik Elias. [Sports Illustrated]
And Los Angeles Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr has returned to the Calgary Flames to retire as a member of the team for which he played 11 of his 15 seasons. [USA Today]
Edmonton Oilers forward Matt Hendricks has been suspended three games for the boarding incident that has left Florida Panthers defender Aaron Ekblad in concussion protocol. [The Hockey News]
Also in THN: that time Riley Sheahan scored two game-winning goals for the Detroit Red Wings, in the same game – after not even he saw the first one go in. [THN]
New York Islanders defender Travis Hamonic will miss 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury, which throws a wrench into both a possible trade and the Isles’ fight for playoff contention. [Lighthouse Hockey]
Sharpie and his casually dazzling shootout skills are immortalized in this week’s Frozen Moment.
Patrick Sharp’s shootout goal against the Jets is this week’s @budlight Frozen Moment. pic.twitter.com/ONyZa7GcVh
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 11, 2016
Finally: A voice of a generation – name almost any of them – moved on when David Bowie passed away late Sunday night, at age 69. Greg Wyshynski reminded the world that Bowie’s “Heroes” served as the intro to NHL 99. And the stars look very different today. See you around, space man. [Puck Daddy]