The Stars are back home after the most successful two-game road trip they could possibly have had, points-wise. They won’t be content to just come home with a ho-hum and a yawn, though. In fact, the Stars will be taking a moment to remind us that there are some things bigger than hockey, as hard as that may be to believe.
In fact, for those at the game today, you’ll get to celebrate a very special birthday. Per the Stars:
Saturday’s “Hometown Hero” of the game will be Frank J. Kormos, who turns 100 years old today. Frank, who served in World War II, will be honored prior to the game and will remain on the ice until the end of the National Anthem.
Frank’s son, Ron, wrote up a bio of his father for the celebration: “Frank is a Native Texan who earned the Rank of Major in the US Army. He is a veteran of World War II who served in the 5th, 7th and 9th Infantries in Northern Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany; part of that tour under General Patton of the 9th Infantry. Frank still volunteers his time to AARP and was the 2014 Andrus Award winner which is the highest award AARP gives its volunteers. He was born on November 15, 1914 – making him 100 years old today.”
The Stars will have pictures on the video board and a reading by Jeff K to honor Frank. On the heels of Veterans Day, Frank will be celebrating his special day in fine fashion at American Airlines Center.
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Saturday Links means more than forty winks for most of us. Remember, don’t stare at your phone, tablet or television right before going to bed. It will mess up your REM cycles and cause sleep issues long term.
The Texas Stars dropped a tough one last night to the Grand Rapids Griffins, as Jack Campbell surrendered an overtime goal with just 0.8 seconds to go. Overtime is not a friend of Texas so far this year, it seems. [100 Degree Hockey]
Mike Heika confirms that the Stars want to bring Klingberg along slowly, but they might do so by continuing to play him for 23+ minutes on the top pairing. That is technically slow, still, when compared to things like comets or photons. [DMN]
Mack Irwin, a student at St. Andrews in Scotland who writes for the Washington Post, says that the Stars need to improve their shot suppression on the blue line. He clearly wrote this piece BK (Before Klingberg), but it’s still a very thorough look at expected results vs. actuals. Worth your time. Plus, Stars fodder at the Washington Post. [WP]
Razor had a lot to say in three minutes about the victory at Staples Center. [Stars]
Travis Moen is in Dallas, but he won’t play today. Hemsky is indeed back in and practicing on what I guess is the third line. If Fiddler and McKenzie can’t help him start scoring, then I don’t know who can. (Lesser competition though, so that’s something, I guess.) [DMN]
What would you say was Mike Modano’s best season? The Hockey News looks at the top years for all the HOF inductees. [THN]
Colorado may be getting an outdoor game, which sounds great until you remember that the Avalanche released a live Sasquatch into the mountains a while back. What if he seeks revenge? [Denver Post]
Filip Forsberg is good, and the Capitals traded him for Marty Erat. I can’t emphasize that enough. [Puck Daddy]
Blake Wheeler is Winnipeg’s new best friend who isn’t actually new to them. [THN]
If you’re still hanging on to a nostalgic view of the enforcer, Sean McIndoe makes a compelling case for letting go. I still can’t watch that Thornton video (and a couple of others) without a visceral reaction. [Grantland]
Arctic Ice Hockey is here to remind you that putting ads on hockey sweaters is a lazy way to raise revenue for the beleaguered league that is bringing in record profits already. [AIH]
Via Down Goes Brown, read the second half of this article about Guy Lapointe’s legacy of pranking his fellow Canadiens, then laugh a lot while you do. [Montreal Gazette]
Don’t believe me that Lapointe was a French-Canadien Jim Halpert? Ask Bobby Hull!