The dour words of William Munny, now a cliche in pop culture at this point, couldn’t be more appropriate for the Dallas Stars‘ win over the Minnesota Wild; “deserve’s got nothing to do with it.”
Dallas didn’t “deserve” the win. But their puck incompetence wasn’t enough to lose them the game. That’s all that matters for now. But nobody in Dallas’ HQ should be satisfied with on ice display.
1. From Slump to Status
That goal is just so freaking unnecessary. They just gift wrap too many golden chances. Poor hockey.
— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) February 10, 2016
The first period was a wild exchange of chances, once again emphasizing the house of cards defense that Dallas tries to run. John Klingberg had pretty good position on Erik Haula, but Haula’s speed was just too much, and he blazed past Dallas’ defenders with no problem to record the first tally on the board. Dallas would quickly answer back with a goal by a pinching Alex Goligoski. Until this happened:
2. Drowning ‘V’
@SportsSturm help me out, is this bad positioning for white? pic.twitter.com/v0CLPNrShU
— Dez Bryant’s Monkey (@dez_monkey) February 10, 2016
This isn’t a broken play. It’s a Greek tragedy.
I saw some people criticizing Oduya on this play. The same Johnny Oduya who has been the only defensemen who doesn’t experience bouts of Ovechkin on the blueline. Which is kind of silly, as he was trying to ‘get to the play’ before the Wild, covering up for Dallas’ mistakes. Yea he made one more, but at that point, the damage was already done.
Kari deserves some blame as well, but it’s hard to fault a goalie for not successfully predicting the shooter in a franchise-on-0 scenario.
3. Even Sweden
minnesota nice. #GoStars #DALvsMIN pic.twitter.com/aZaTHJYY1o
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 10, 2016
Solid setup by Mattias Janmark. Have I mentioned how much I think he needs to be unleashed?
Obviously not. Dallas wasn’t playing too bad in the middle frame. It was the final period that would see them completely fold. Nonetheless, it was nice to see some depth scoring. Speaking of depth scoring…
4. Yosemite Bam
I see you, Patrick Eaves. Real recognizes real. pic.twitter.com/gLy8DR0cz0
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) February 10, 2016
Patrick Eaves is the kind of player that will never get much credit for who he is because he deserves so much credit for who he’s not. It’s easy to credit a player for their skating, or their goal scoring. It’s harder to credit a player for their value in being a player who doesn’t blend in with Dallas’ schizofenwick style of play.
5. Kari GivingUpOnEm
Goalie interference or not, why does goalie give up on play here? https://t.co/T9G5SHQSzs
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) February 10, 2016
As good as Kari was, he sort of owed Dallas and its fans. The weird, bizarre goal/non goal wasn’t on Kari, but he clearly gave up on this play. I don’t mean in relation to ‘trying’. I mean in relation to the kind of gaffes Kari has been prone since last season. Even at his absolute best, Kari can be wildly inconsistent.
6. Wrister. Maketh. Man.
Collective gasp with Klingberg comeing down the ice and Kuemper save
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) February 10, 2016
Dallas forced Minnesota into OT and it’s crazy to think that at this point, If Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and John Klingberg are on the ice. it’s Klingberg I want shooting the puck.
Stray observations
- Radek Faksa looked like his usual solid self. He’s carrying Vernon Fiddler and Travis Moen at this point. It would be nice to have someone like this on his wing:
Dickinson goal. #Txstars pic.twitter.com/ed0FSWsoi8
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) February 10, 2016
- I hear he’s available.
- The PK once again stunk up the joint but what’s new?
- 4-1 against the Wild over the full season. Feels good. I swear petty jealousy over getting rejected for the stadium series has nothing to do with it. /