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Dallas Stars Strike the Tampa Bay Lightning Down 5-3: Six Easy Tweets

Posted on by David Castillo

If you’re a Dallas Stars fan, you might want to consult with your doctor first. They won last night, bumping their spot in the standings with a solid 3-1 record. But not before giving Stars fan yet another comeback scare. It’s a worrying trend that speaks to the psychology (and youth, by proxy) of the team, but winning tends to cure all.

The win itself was more impressive than the mechanics that led to the win. There was more bad and ugly than good for Dallas, and luckily for us, Twitter has provides us with six easy tweets explaining why.

1. Sorry Sweden. Mattias Janmark now belongs to Texas.

There are a lot of really good rookies in the NHL right now. Anthony Duclair is leading the league in rookie scoring, aided with a beastly performance the other day after potting a hat trick. And somewhere nestled between Artemi Panarin and Dylan Larkin is Janmark. When all is said and done, I don’t know that Janmark will be competing with players like Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid, and Dylan Larkin.

But I do know that he’s been an absolute revelation for Dallas. Unlike Alex Chiasson, Reilly Smith, or a bunch of other guys who don’t even deserve the oxygen of bandwidth, Janmark isn’t just raw variance, or shooting percentage. He’s an incredible two-way player who is deceptively fast, and has the instincts of a playmaker. While the Cody Eakin goal was largely the result of Colton Sceviour’s patience, it was Janmark’s spiffy assist that more or less finished the job. It’s his 4th game, and he’s been doing this consistently. It’s common for rookies to make big plays. Raw talent tends to be sudden, and exciting. But it’s rare to see rookies do all the little things right in addition.

2. This isn’t the work of your average “2 C”

Jason Spezza is having one heck of a start to the season, but you knew that already. The assist on this goal is absolutely next level. Being able to cross ice pass that deep in the crease is what once earned Spezza the honor of being called “The Next One”. Though it really isn’t an honor; just a lazy soundbite from hockey dinosaurs with unimaginative minds.

It’ll be interesting to see if Spezza can maintain this pace. If history is any indication, he can. He’s functionally a point per game player. But hockey nerds are always quick to reminds us that at 32 years of age, you might as well be a Scanners victim. So who knows. Then again we live an an age of Biogenesis, and gene doping. Spezza’s still gonna Spezza, in my opinion.

3. Curtis McKenzie on IR too.

For the record, I don’t think Nesterov threw with ill intent. He doesn’t accelerate much into McKenzie. It’s a lack of hockey sense more than anything, but throwing any hit against a player with his back turned on a prone angle rarely ends well, and players need to be spatially aware.

With McKenzie and Eaves out, Nichushkin will almost certainly come back in. Sean Shapiro feels like Remi Ellie and Radek Faksa would be the first to be called up if Dallas needed more reinforcements. They’ve been productive for Texas thus far, and played solid preseason games in addition to having good training camps. That’s a heck of a silver lining, though good vibes and wishes to Mckenzie first and foremost.

4. Now for your regularly scheduled Period 3 collapse.

Dallas was up 4-1 going into the 3rd with a little bit of power play time left, and before you could say ‘Game Six’, Tampa Bay had cut the lead to within one.

It’s hard to blame Dallas for “turtling”. Teams are often shellacked by fans for going into the patented shell, either calling out the players or the coaches. The shell is a flaw in psychology. Not strategy or desire. When you’re up by a decent margin, there’s too much inherent risk to playing a high octane game. Players just naturally lack the urge, and this urge competes with the opponent’s total willingness to sell out for chances. Still, Dallas needs to be better. Once again they teetered on the brink of collapse. Eventually the breaks are going to start going the other way.

5. Klingberg slumping like a sophomore without his Adderall. And you know what? That’s ok.

John Klingberg had a really rough game. And not just rookie bad. Klingberg’s performance was Wandell-skating-on-fishbowl-shoes-from-I’m Gonna Get You Sucka bad.

There’s simply no sugar coating it. It was clear his communication with Goligoski (the worst possession player of the night) was off, and in addition to the awful passing, looked glacially slow. A lot of fans will be harsh on Klingberg. It’s not without merit. But it’s important to weigh those criticisms without the lofty expectations in mind. While also keeping in mind the competition; Tampa is one of the best teams in the league.

Klingberg is still less than a full season’s worth of pro experience. He’s gonna make mistakes. He’s gonna make big mistakes. But theoretically these misplays will balance out. This is where, for as annoying as these soundbites can be, experience from actual champions pays off. Oduya was probably giving Klingberg an earful last night; not to frighten the poor Swede, but to remind him that your mistakes exist not to indict you, but to remind you that you can do better.

6. Keep Calm and Hope Kari can Stay On

Kari played a solid game. I wouldn’t call it Carey Price great. More like ‘Osgoodian’, if you will.

Giving so many goals in quick possession feels like variance more than anything. Overall I’d say it was a sloppy game for Dallas. They were manhandled possession wise. And even those stats don’t seen to do it justice. Defenseman weren’t moving their feet on the breakouts, Dallas once again looked skittish when Tampa started to bring the extra forechecker (ala Colorado), and they’ve got their next three on the road against teams that are better then they look (Florida especially). A win’s a win, however, and they continue to get closer to playing as a unit.

Talking Points