Much has been written already about the non-goal that Nicklas Backstrom scored on Kari Lehtonen at the American Airlines Center on Saturday night. For those who missed it, with a loose puck in the general vicinity of the crease, and Kari doing his best to keep the Stars lead from vanishing, Backstrom did what every coach tells his players to do. Crash the net.
Problem is, he took it one step further. He cross checked Kari Lehtonen in the face en route to knocking the puck (and goalie) into the goal. It was an obvious no goal. It was reviewed, it was denied, and play went on. After the game, Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates shared his thoughts on the subject, where he basically said that the goal should have counted and that Kari Lehtonen embellished the contact.
Granted, it was obviously an embellishment on Kari’s part, at least a little bit… but that doesn’t make the goal legitimate or the cross check legal. Well now Nicklas Backstrom himself has weighed in on the call. “What I saw was the puck, and I touched the puck before I touched the mask,” he said. “But I don’t know, it’s typical.” That is so typical of NHL officials. They always seem to disallow goals scored in the act of cross checking the goaltender in the face. [Washington Post]
In local news, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News thinks that the Stars are going to need a lot from Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin if they’re going to make some noise in the Central Division this season. The much anticipated duo have combined for zero goals so far in the first two games of the year. [Dallas Morning News]
Back in the familiar old Pacific Division, the newly re-aligned Vancouver Canucks are about to face off against former back-up turned starter turned trade bait Corey Schneider and the New Jersey Devils. After the seemingly decade long goalie controversy, it should be fun to see Roberto Luongo play head to head against his former stablemate. [Vancouver Sun]
In an even more anticipated reunion, the king of Orange County, Teemu Selanne, returned to Winnipeg to play against the Winnipeg Jets for the first time in a very long time. Selanne’s rookie season in Winnipeg, which earned him the nickname of “The Finnish Flash,” is still considered stuff of legend in NHL lore. [CBC]
The Dallas Stars may never play in an outdoor NHL game, but at least the odds are getting better with the ever expanding NHL Stadium Series. The NHL play a record number six NHL games outdoors this season. Can the NHL’s ice crews keep up? [Edmonton Journal]
The Stars aren’t the only team with some new uniforms this year, but at least they (sorta) got to unveil them on their own terms. Looks like the Calgary Flames had their new alternate sweater leaked by an EA Sports video game. Think they’ve got enough C’s on the front of that jersey? [Puck Daddy]
If you’ve gotten a chance to watch a Vancouver Canucks game this season, you might have noticed a new additiion to their glass. As if there weren’t enough bells and whistles going on in a modern NHL arena, the Canucks have installed new LED lights in between each pain of glass. Just because it’s a little seizure inducing doesn’t mean it isn’t still pretty cool looking.