Happy Monday, everyone! Next season is still very unkown for Dallas Stars fans. Will the team finally make the leap and be a threat in the Western Conference, or will they remain mired in mediocrity and battling for a playoff spot? A lot of that comes down to new head coach Jim Montgomery’s style of play:
“I believe you don’t give up any easy ice, it doesn’t matter where the puck is,” Montgomery told The Athletic. “I want to challenge every puck with a good angle speed and body on top of it and layers in behind it. So, the layers is similar to last year. I think how quickly we pressure pucks is going to be different. I don’t think guys are going to be able to stay out on the ice as long as they did last year — not that they stayed long last year, because they had to work last year and they did a great job. I mean, the defensive numbers speak for themselves but we, as a team, are going to try and aggressively cause more turnovers this year. I guess that will be the difference and that’s all over the ice. It’s in the D zone from what I’ve seen, it’s on rush defense in particular, the forecheck is probably going to be very close.”
That was an incredibly long quote and I don’t want to steal too much of Sean Shapiro’s thunder, so I’ll leave it at that. See the rest of the article at Sean’s usual digs. [The Athletic]
Stars Stuff
Hmmm…I don’t think that this was the issue. I believe “greasy” was the word du jour last year:
“They have to have a little more sandpaper. They have to have a little more grit.”@KenDaneykoMSG breaks down the keys to success for the #Stars. #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/PhVEZvD3aw
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 25, 2018
Albin Eriksson gets a little less love than some of the other Stars’ prospects, but he (hopefully) has a bright future as well:
— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) August 24, 2018
Mike Heika caught up with Ben Bishop and discussed being tall and having a baby:
On the Fly with goaltender Ben Bishop https://t.co/4IFl4C1jsp via @NHL
— Mike Heika (@MikeHeika) August 25, 2018
The face graphics are on point (I guess?), but man, those are like JJ Watt shoulders:
Here we go! #HairGame #Goater @easportsnhl #NHL19Ratings pic.twitter.com/JjLWFVp29v
— Jamie Benn (@jamiebenn14) August 27, 2018
Around the League
The NHL Network put together a little #MDK primer for you:
Who will win the Central Division? Which player will lead the division in scoring?@mike_p_johnson gives us his predictions. #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/mFoPBnMWaC
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 25, 2018
The Stars didn’t really have any prominent rookies last year, so nothing to worry about here:
Sophomore Slump: Who’s vulnerable and who isn’t? From @THNJaredClinton https://t.co/lY68Zc7ilO pic.twitter.com/uwznk0xy3n
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 26, 2018
Strong disagree with this list:
A ranking of the 31 NHL teams’ No. 1 defenseman in 2018-19, writes @SamMcCaig22 https://t.co/63NSX7RCpW
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 25, 2018
Karlsson updates:
Catching up on the latest round of Erik Karlsson trade talk, writes @THNJaredClinton https://t.co/5TzupDhGkt pic.twitter.com/2CxGkj5SvI
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 24, 2018
This is big if true:
#RedWings Jeff Blashill said it doesn’t seem likely Henrik Zetterberg (back) will be ready to play, and if he’s not he’s not likely to play at all this season. Will know more when he has his pre-camp physical in mid-September.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) August 26, 2018